CYPRESS, Calif., Dec. 17, 2003 -- Brightening the holidays for thousands of disadvantaged children this holiday season, Bandai America Incorporated announced the delivery of more than $5 million worth of toys to the 2003 U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Campaign. As a national corporate sponsor of Toys for Tots since 1995, Bandai's continued support to this community action program has ensured thousands of children have toys to unwrap during the holidays.
A manufacturer of popular children's brands and toy lines, Bandai America's donation included Power Rangers, Gundam and Ultimate Muscle action figures, playsets and role play items for boys as well as Strawberry Shortcake scented dolls, Hello Kitty dolls and playsets for girls. The donation is expected to alleviate much of the national shortfall in toys this holiday season that is being particularly felt in the Southern California area.
"Toys not only bring a little more holiday cheer to children during the holidays, they help young kids learn and grow through play," said Bill Beebe, senior vice president, sales and marketing for Bandai America Incorporated. "We are proud to once again contribute to the meaningful work of the U.S. Marine Corps. Reserve and the Toys for Toys campaign, and we hope our donation helps parents during these tough times by bringing smiles to kids across the country."
"We are extremely appreciative of the support Bandai America has provided to the campaign, given the difficulty of corporate toy-raising this year," said Major William Grein, U.S. Marine Corp (Ret) and vice president of Toys for Tots. "Bandai's significant contributions and leadership over the past 13 years have been instrumental in our continued success. I can truly say that Bandai has saved many Toys for Tots programs across the country and their generosity has helped ensure that we can meet many more children's needs this year."
Today, tractor-trailers set out from Bandai America's warehouse in Fontana, CA to begin delivering the toys to organizations across the country, including the Encino facility in the San Fernando Valley. Toys for Tots' local toy collection campaigns began in October of this year, and Toys for Tots Coordinators will distribute toys on December 23rd and 24th. Over the years, Marines have established close working relationships with social welfare agencies and other local community agencies which are well qualified to identify the needy children in the community and play important roles in the distribution of the toys.
About Toys for Tots
The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is now in its 56th year. Toys for Tots began in 1947, when Major William L. (Bill) Hendricks, USMCR and a handful of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children on Christmas Eve. Today, Toys for Tots is the Marine Corps' premier community action program and one of the nation's flagship Christmas charitable causes. Toys for Tots is the only charitable endeavor within the Department of Defense which reaches outside the military establishment to give something back to the communities from which our nation draws the young men and women who wear the uniforms of the armed services of the United States.
About Bandai America Incorporated
Bandai America Incorporated is a subsidiary of Bandai Co. Ltd., the third largest toy company in the world, with 27 subsidiaries in 8 countries worldwide. Global interests include toys and children's entertainment, video game software, multimedia, music, full-length feature films, vending machines, trading cards, candies and licensed apparel.
Bandai America Incorporated is celebrating its 25th anniversary as the master toy licensee of some of the most popular properties and brands in children's toys and entertainment, including the Power Rangers, Gundam, Digimon, Strawberry Shortcake, Hello Kitty and Astro Boy product lines. Bandai America is headquartered in Cypress, California and company information is available at Bandai.com.
