Breckenridge Texan

For 36 years, U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Doug Beaty (ret.) has been working to ensure children in Stephens County receive toys during the holiday season through the Marine Corps Reserves’ Toys for Tots program.

Beaty, the local coordinator for the program in Stephens and Shackleford counties, said there are about 12 toy donation boxes located throughout the community. Additionally, some of the locations also have small cash donation boxes where cash donations can be made. Beaty said the donations the program receives are used to help children in the community.

“It’s a community action program where we get the community involved in helping us raise funds or toys to help out our children in need,” he said Wednesday afternoon at Clear Fork Bank, where bank employees presented him with a donation check.

The program focuses primarily on collecting new, unwrapped toys for children. He said children between the ages of 8 and 14 are his most challenging age group. “Eight to 14 years of age, that’s my hardest ones to fill, and it’s the hardest ones that I receive as a donation,” he explained.

He said cash donations can be made at several locations and online. Some of the locations include Dos Gallos, Ernie’s, Clear Fork Bank, Dollar General, Jonell Incorporated and the VFW. Online donations can be made through ToysforTots.org by selecting Breckenridge, Texas, or Stephens County.

He works with vendors who provide toys just above cost, allowing him to stretch donations further. “I can get twice as much than what people can donate,” he said.

The program’s mission extends beyond the holiday season. Beaty provides toys for children during emergencies, such as house fires, and has donated stuffed animals to first responders to comfort children during difficult times.

Donation boxes will remain in place until around Dec. 20, though Beaty remains flexible. “I’ve had some give me on the last day,” he said. “I’ve had calls for children in need at the last moment, too, and I’ve gone and filled it.”

Beaty said the Toys for Tots program began in 1947 and that the three-train logo used by the group was designed by Walt Disney, who gave the group the patent for the logo. He said it’s been an official Marine Corps Mission since 1996, with over 830 coordinators nationwide. “It’s been a long tradition, and the Marine Corps Reserve has carried on this tradition,” he said.

Cutline, top photo: Sonia Sikes with Clear Fork Bank presents retired Marine Staff Sgt. Doug Beaty with a donation check for the local Toys for Tots campaign. Also pictured are Clear Fork Bank employees Connie Wooten, left, Renee Funderburg, Anna Castro and Noemi Duran. The bank, along with along with several other businesses in town, is an official Toys for Tots drop-off location, accepting both toys and cash donations. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)