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The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve TFT Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. Through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope is delivered to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.
Some History
 The program began with 1 person in 1947. By 1948, a nationwide community action project had mobilized so that even Berks County had a toy collection that year. BMJA began our participation in 1996, when we used to have our meetings at the Marine Corp Barracks of India Battery 3/14 in the Kenhorst area of Reading.
It started with just a one-hour parade through Reading that culminated at the barracks. Jeepers, accompanied by club members Santa and Mrs. Claus, would deliver the toys they donated and the Marines would say a few words of thanks. Since 2002, it has been a 2-day event that starts with a well-attended trail ride on Saturday (with some proceeds from the trail ride going to TFT), then the parade on Sunday. It gets bigger every year and we always have a great time! These 2 days of events are open to everyone who would like to join us.
  We get a tremendous amount of support year after year from the bikers in theBlue Knights and the
Leathernecks of Iwo Jima Detachment #1. During the parade, they escort us through the city, making sure all intersections are safe and all the people are paying attention.
Information about the 2003 TFT campaign:
- BMJA and Paragon together collected $1500, not counting toys
- 46,000 toys were collected in Berks County as a whole
- from this: 6,500 Berks kids received gifts
- 1,000 kids in Philly received gifts (the Berks campaign chipped in to the Philly campaign)
Much more information can be found at the Marine Toys For Tots Foundation.
What about this year?
We usually do the TFT KickOff Weekend for the Reading area on the first weekend in November. Check the posts in our Events Forum for the very latest news. You can even try emailing Santa directly. Let's get as many clubs and vehicle owners as possible to this event. Nonmembers are most welcome to participate.
For the 2005 BMJA Toy Run we plan to start with the off-road event open to all vehicles, 4x4s, quads and dirt bikes. Further information will be posted later in the Events Forum.
We will also parade through the city of Reading on our way to meet with the Marines at India Battery 3/14 and deliver our donations and toys.
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