Toys For Tots is an organization that has been providing new Christmas toys for underprivileged children since 1947. Recently, members of our Marketing Team used their Volunteer Time Off (VTO) to spend some time helping out at the United States Marine Corps location in San Jose, CA. Toys For Tots is always a popular way for ATR employees to use their VTO.
“ATR gives us five days each year to volunteer for the charity of our choice. Toys For Tots is always near the top of my list when deciding how to spend my time,” said Brian.
The members of the volunteer team included Andrea Brenholz, Kamila Sobczyk, Angelique Solorio, and Brian Glassanos and they were given the task of sorting through all of the toys that were donated during October, November, and December.
“During our shift, we counted and separated all of the generous donations for infants, children, and teens,” said Angelique Solorio. “It was so humbling to be in a position to decide which children got which toys.”
The team processed hundreds of toys during their day with Toys For Tots, making sure that each toy was sorted properly by gender and age group to ensure that the child receiving it would be happy come Christmas morning.
“Christmas time is really about the children,” explained Kamila. “If I can help bring a smile to the faces of kids who would otherwise have gotten very little, or nothing, for Christmas, then donating my time is well worth it.”
All agreed that their day sorting the donated toys was time well spent. For Angelique, however, there was one aspect that was especially difficult for her.
“Most people who donate toys to Toys For Tots think of young children when selecting gifts to donate. This means teens often get overlooked. It broke my heart to see how few gifts there were for teens,” said Angelique. “I will be donating gifts specifically for teens from now on. Everyone deserves to have a joyous Christmas morning.”
Andrea Brenholz, ATR’s CMO, is always happy when she sees the company’s VTO being used to support the community in such a way.
“ATR’s VTO Program is in place so that our employees can give back in just this manner,” said CMO Andrea Brenholz. “It can be especially rewarding when a team can work together. The opportunity ATR provides is the easy part. It’s our employees that put in the work that makes a difference in our communities.”
ATR’s VTO, or Voluntary Time Off Program gives each internal ATR employee 5 paid days per year that they can use to work at a charitable organization(s) of their choosing.
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