U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots is celebrating its 54th anniversary this year, thanks to Bill and Diane Hendricks, who started the program for needy Los Angeles children during Christmas, 1947.
Diane Hendricks had collected some toys and had knitted a red and white rag doll to give to some underprivileged children. She couldn't find anyone collecting toys, so she turned to her husband, Bill, for help.
Hendricks, then a major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve at the Chavez Ravine station, suggested to his commanding officer that Marine Reservists initiate a toy drive. "He liked the idea," Hendricks (a retired Colonel) recalled this week. "And he said two words: 'Don't fail.' "
The Marines collected 7,000 toys that year, with the Hendricks' (who never had children of their own) and their friends delivering them to families until midnight Christmas Eve. "Anybody who said hello to me that first year got drafted to deliver toys," said Hendricks, who lives in Burbank.
Collection barrels for the drive can be found at many corporate headquarters, churches, social and civic organizations. Toys for Tots have become a traditional Christmas fixture at Warner Studios, where Hendricks previously worked as publicity director, assistant to studio head Jack Warner. He was director of the cartoon department and an Academy Award-winning documentary producer.
"It was a success right from the start," Bill Hendricks said, "and it all started with that magical rag doll. It showed there was a need for this kind of program then, and I believe there's a bigger need today."