After a fundraising and public relations disaster in 1993, the award-winning Marine Toys for Tots Foundation regrouped and came back stronger than ever.

By Melissa Busch

“We do some fundraising, corporate-wise, year-round because many companies work one and two Christmases in advance,” he explains. “But once Christmas comes and goes, we [don’t mail asks]. Many [people] are still paying off their Christmas bills.

“We don’t do any direct mail during the first part of the year, and we never do any telemarketing,” he says. “And then we get back to things after that.”