Men's Lacrosse Team Collects Toys for Tots
November 2, 2009
"Danny Lawrence, SUNY Maritime's lacrosse coach, and I keep in contact on and off the field," said Andrew Fink, Mount Ida College's head lacrosse coach. "A few weeks ago Danny brought up the idea of a Toys for Tots Fall Classic and it was exactly the type of community service project I knew my team would want to join in on.”
The U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program began in 1947 when a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and distributed 5,000 toys to needy children. This pilot program was so successful that the Marine Corps expanded it into a nationwide campaign. Over the 62 years of the program's history, Marines have distributed more than 400 million toys to more than 188 million needy children.
For some weeks prior to the event, the Mustangs set up tables on campus and collected toys during lunch hour. "We wanted to make sure we brought a toy to match every player," said Fink. "In fact, we wound up contributing about 90 toys."
Coach Fink has been looking for other community service projects that his team members might get involved with, such as volunteering at a food shelter. "We want to get our young guys playing lacrosse and helping others at the same time," explained Fink. "Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to win our seventh consecutive championship that it helps to step back and think about kids who need something to cheer them up during the holidays. Fall ball is a good time for something like this. It's the time when we meet and greet and get to know each other. In the spring we're focused on winning games. Now is when we can spend a little time focusing on helping other people."