For more than 20 years, the UMass Medical School community has been helping needy children in the area enjoy Christmas a little bit more through participation in the annual Toys for Tots drive. Coordinated at UMMS by the Public Safety Office, Toys for Tots is a national drive that was founded in 1947 by the U.S. Marines; in 2010 it collected 16.7 million toys that were distributed in the communities in which they were collected to 7.2 million needy children.
If you would like to contribute new, unwrapped toys, you will find collection bins located throughout the Worcester and South Street campus as well as at Biotech IV. Although Toys for Tots does not make specific recommendations about what toys to donate, leaving that choice up to the donor, the organization will not distribute realistic-looking toy weapons and gifts that contain food. It also accepts cash contributions through its website www.toysfortots.org.
