Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA -- We at the Quantico Toys for Tots Campaign and the Marines of 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (LARBN) want to send a special thank you and shout-out to the service members who volunteered during the 2017 Toys for Tots season. Your efforts are a testament to what our service members do and who they really are.
We found they did not volunteer for the recognition or the opportunity to wear an additional medal on their chest. They did it with heart and compassion for the many less fortunate children in our community, making sure each child receives a little Christmas. The reward they received was the tears of gratitude from the parents of these children.
It was the reaction from the little girl when she laughed out loud after not uttering a sound for two years.
It was the pleading in the voice of the little boy who asked a Marine who handed him a huge Tonka truck if he could trade that truck for a teddy bear so he could hold it at night.
It was the countless miracles which always seem to come out of the program each year.
There is no Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) for volunteerism, no school to go to learn how to volunteer. Our service members seem to instinctively know how to balance being warriors while serving their community at the same time.
On behalf of the staff of the Quantico Toys for Tots campaign and the Marines at 4th LARBN who administer the program, a heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone. For the rest of the community, believe in miracles, but most of all, believe in Marines!
Semper Fi.
To learn more about how to volunteer in the community and on base please visit, http://www.quantico.marines.mil/Offices-Staff/Quantico-Office-of-Communication/Volunteer-Program/ or call the Installation Volunteer Coordinator at 703-784-2687.