On Monday, Dec. 3, Federated executive Mike Schultz was one of several volunteers on hand at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey to help out at the Toys for Tots-Blue Angels “Save Christmas for Children Displaced by Superstorm Sandy” collection event.  The volunteers helped unload a C-130 cargo plane and trucks full of toys that will be distributed to communities still recovering from the storm destruction.

“What an honor it was to be able to help out at this tremendous event,” said Schultz.  “The Toys for Tots organization and the Blue Angels cannot be commended enough for organizing this toy collection event and making sure the joy of Christmas reaches those children affected by Hurricane Sandy.  Everyone at Federated is thrilled to be participating in the Toys for Tots campaign this year and we want to thank Toys for Tots for inviting us to help out at the Joint Base.”

The Blue Angels transformed their C-130 cargo plane, affectionately nicknamed Fat Albert, into a modern day Santa’s Sleigh with a mission to help save Christmas for many children in the Northeast.  The Blue Angels arrived at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst with Santa on board and an aircraft full of toys after making stops in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. to collect toys.

Toys for Tots had Marine ambassadors from six states on hand to accept the toys and help distribute them to communities affected by the storm.  Schultz was one of several volunteers who helped unload the C-130 and the trucks. The collected toys arriving in New Jersey were provided by employees of Lockheed Martin in Atlanta, makers of the C-130 Fat Albert plane as well as other generous Marine Toys for Tots Foundation corporate donors from across the country, including Federated Auto Parts.

As part of its Toys for Tots partnership, participating Federated members are collecting donations and toys at their stores.  In addition, financial contributions may be made at the Federated Toys for Tots microsite (www.federatedautoparts.com/ToysforTots.aspx), which links directly to the Toys for Tots website.  Donors can use their credit card securely to make a monetary donation or print out a form and mail it in with a check made out to Toys for Tots.