The Magic Morning Show has begun its Toys for Tots Drive at Briarwood this morning. They will be here until 10:00 AM. Jim Harper has been supporting Toys for Tots for 32 years.

According to Tony Gillum, Washtenaw County's Coordinator for Toys for Tots, the Marines are coordinating toys for approximately 1,500 families in Washtenaw County. The have 114 drop-off locations so far across the county. Newly added agencies to benefit from the drive include Hope and DHS.

Toys for Tots began in 1947 when Major Bill Hendrix' wife made a Raggedy Ann Doll. She wanted him to find an organization to give it to so it could get in the hands of a needy child. When he couldn't find one, she told him that he had better start one then. Though many people believe that Walt Disney served in the US Marine Corps Reserves, he was actually a driver for The Salvation Army. Through his influences in LA, he was able to make the Toys for Tots program flourish.

This is the 62nd anniversary for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots drive, and have raised over a 500 million toys to date. Their goal is to raise 2 toys per child. Nationally, they raise an average of 15 Million toys per year, serving 6.6 million children. The program became so large that the Marine Corp Reserves joined forces with the Toys for Tots organization in 1991.

According to Major Greg Corbett, the Detroit Metro market is the third most successful location in the country. In this region, they raised 254,000 toys in 2008 for 80,000 children (three toys each.) He said that the Marine Corps Reserves holds this commitment very seriously, as they are serving here and across the region, even as they have 600 Marine Corps Reservists out of Selfridge deployed in the war overseas.