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

The organization typically begins sending out asks again in late spring or early summer, Grein says.

Osman adds: “The fact [that] the public sees ‘donation time’ as the holidays is just a fact we have to deal with. We do benefit from this ‘spirit of giving’ time.

“We’re not asking for lots — just a little from a whole lot of people, and we’re just as happy if you drop a toy in the barrel,” he says. “I think it appeals to a large number of people because for $10, $15 you can make one heck of a difference in one child’s Christmas; $10 doesn’t go very far in a lot of other organizations.” FS