With the holiday season now getting into full swing, the Marine Corps League and Salvation Army are working to ensure that local families have a good Christmas this year.

The Toys for Tots program, led by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, aims to supply needy children with toys at Christmas. The Surry Marine Corps League, detachment 1322, began in March and is composed of local veterans. For its first Christmas as an organization, the Surry MCL members hope to collect 500 toys to give to children this year.

“I wouldn’t want to be the child on Christmas morning that didn’t have anything to open,” said Todd Abbott, a member of the league.

So far the organization has 120 toys. These will be donated to the Salvation Army to distribute to families in need. Some organizations have donated money to the MCL, who then went out to shop for toys.

The league members are campaigning for people to bring new unwrapped toys to the Mount Airy Christmas Parade on Dec. 6. Local Boys Scouts will be on hand to collect toys as the MCL float goes by. The MCL float should be the first one to pass by.

Some Marine Corps groups handle both the collecting and distributing of toys in the community. Abbott said the Surry MCL decided to give the Toys for Tots items to the Salvation Army this year, because the group is new and not set up to know who has the needs in the county. Abbott pointed out that these needs are abundant.

“The way the economy has been will have a bearing on the number of kids that won’t get toys on Christmas morning,” said Abbott.

The MCL has held two solicitations at the Mount Airy Wal-Mart this month, where members collected $1,300, which will be used to purchase toys. They also have toy bins set up at area locations: Maple Grove Methodist Church, Salem Methodist Church, Burger King in Dobson, Cross Creek Country Club, Workforce Carolina, U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting office in Mayberry Mall, Papa John’s Pizza on U.S. 601, and others.

The league would like to have all toys collected by Dec. 11 so they can be taken to the Salvation Army. Anything under $5 is considered to be a stocking stuffer.

“This is a start. We’re certainly going to increase in numbers in the attachment, in community service and in Toys for Tots. We expect to have more next year,” Abbott said.

The Surry Marine Corps League is composed of 21 members but is part of a national organization with around 100 detachments in North Carolina alone. Detachment 1322 is the only MCL in Surry County, and it is open to veterans who served in the U.S. Marines. The MCL is a service organization, and Toys for Tots is its main campaign.

Items collected from the Toys for Tots campaign will go towards helping the approximately 1,000 families who have applied for assistance this Christmas from the Salvation Army in Mount Airy. Susan Rodgers with the Salvation Army reported that last Christmas, the organization received around 700 applications. Rodgers is new to the area but said she can assume that the economy played a role in the jump in numbers.

The Salvation Army collects money each year with its Red Kettle Christmas campaign, which officially kicks off nationwide on Thanksgiving Day. Rodgers said the organization can always use more volunteers to stand outside and ring bells for donations.

Another way the Salvation Army fills the needs listed in the Christmas applications is through the Angel Tree campaign. Through this program, Christmas trees are set up in businesses throughout the community with angels on them. People can select an angel, which represents a child, to purchase Christmas presents for.

Angel Trees will be set up in the Wal-Mart and Mayberry Mall in Mount Airy on Friday. Groups can also set up their own trees. Each angel lists present requests for the child who applied. Rodgers said people usually purchase one outfit and one toy for each child, but they aren’t required to purchase exactly what was requested. These purchases and angels are then returned to the Salvation Army to be distributed.

“We want to be able to give each child a nice gift without being a burden to people,” said Rodgers.

The Salvation Army also has stockings available now to be filled with goodies for children. Stockings may be picked up at the Salvation Army office on South South Street in Mount Airy. The organization asks people not to put fruit or candy in the stockings. It needs these stockings back by Dec. 14 so they can be distributed on Dec. 16.

People may also call the Salvation Army at any time to adopt a family this Christmas. Groups can hold toy or food drives.

For more information about Toys for Tots, contact Todd Abbott at 320-4044 or visit www.toysfortots.org. The Salvation Army in Mount Airy may be reached at 786-4075.

Contact Meghann Evans at mevans@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.