Each year, Air Force Veteran Rick Mantei participated in support of the Toys for Tots Program, believing in its efforts to make a difference in the lives of American families.
Toys for Tots began in 1947 when Diane Hendrick, wife of Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendrick, asked him to deliver a few handcrafted dolls to an agency that supports children in need. When Major Hendricks told her he could find no such organization, she simply instructed, “Start one!” That year, Major Hendricks and the Marines in his reserve unit collected and distributed 5,000 toys in Los Angeles Seeing the successful community engagement, the Commandant directed all Marine Reserve Sites to begin a Toys for Tots campaign the following year. Eventually, in 1991, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation was established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and today it distributes an average of 18 million toys to 7 million children annually.