Quite magically, to the tune of “Here Comes Santa Claus”, a cheerful Kris Kringle arrived on Wednesday, December 14 at the Coronado Cays Yacht Club. To the delight of every small child attending this annual Coronado Rotary Christmas celebration, both Santa and Mrs. Claus made it from the North Pole, of course with their “Ho! Ho! Ho!” in tow. Loaded with gifts for every child in the room, more magic occurred as Coronado Rotary donated approximately 500 gifts to the annual “Toys for Tots” campaign sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.
Now in its 75th year nationally, “Toys for Tots” distributes brand new toys to underprivileged children with the goal of bringing the joy of Christmas and sending a message of hope to our nation’s less fortunate youngsters.
According to recently retired U.S. Marine Colonel Mike Wastila, who represented the Marines at this event, “I’ve been involved with Toys for Tots since 1996.” Overlooking the tables strewn with unwrapped gifts, he exclaimed, “Year after year I’m overwhelmed by the generosity of Coronado Rotary. This makes a difference in needy kids’ lives, for sure!”
Coronado Rotary hopped on board the “Toys for Tots” bandwagon in 2006, marking this their 16th year contributing to the campaign. That means that over the years Coronado Rotarians have donated nearly 8,000 bundles of toy-filled joy to children throughout San Diego County.
In addition to personally sitting on Santa Claus’ lap and receiving an early, festively wrapped gift, each child also enjoyed an opportunity for personal face painting as well as balloon artistry. Plus, there were cookies galore, which moms and dads undoubtedly hid until their kids’ meals had been consumed.
For more information about Rotary Club of Coronado visit coronadorotary.org. With the motto of “service above self,” Coronado Rotary raises hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for myriad causes to benefit people all over the globe.
