Montgomery County Bar Musters Toys for Tots
By Bryan Nichols
The toys, compact discs, electronic games, calculators and other plastic objects
that have billowed out of the closet door since mid-October have given the
Bar Association of Montgomery County (BAMC) headquarters more the appearance
of a Toys-R-Us store. Montgomery County lawyers will continue dropping off
the unwrapped gifts for BAMC’s Seventh Annual Marine Corps Toys for Tots
Campaign through December 18, when a Marine Corps representative will collect
the donations and distribute them to needy children throughout Maryland’s
most-populated county.
“The quality of toys is unbelievable,” remarks BAMC Executive
Director Beverly Mondin, who has been deeply moved by the utter generosity
displayed by the lawyers in her county. “One family just delivered 20
expensive board games.”
Started in 1947 by a group of Marine Reservists in California, Toys for Tots
has never swayed from its original objective: to bring the joy of Christmas
to America’s needy children. The nationwide campaign is now found in
290 communities, and many prominent Americans, including John Wayne, Bob Hope,
First Lady Barbara Bush and Walt Disney, have done their part to bring this
movement to the forefront.
“[The fundraiser’s purpose] is to spread good cheer,” explains
Lade Akinbolaji, who organizes the fundraiser along with Ivonne Lindley, her
co-chair of BAMC’s New Practitioners’ Section. To ensure that
the gifts encompass a wide range of needy children, BAMC asks that donated
gifts be appropriate for all ages (i.e. jewelry, cosmetics, watches, gym bags). “It
doesn’t just focus on kids’ toys,” adds Akinbolaji. “[We]
make sure teens’ toys are included.”
Once again, roughly 3,000 BAMC members have rallied behind the leadership
of Lindley and Akinbolaji, littering the floors of the Bar’s Rockville
office with toys to ensure that no child goes without joy this holiday season.
“Lawyers in this state do so much,” notes Mondin. “They
give so much, they don’t have time to talk about it. I am overwhelmed
by the time Montgomery lawyers give. We are blessed with many volunteers.”
