THE ICONIC 2nd YEAR HOLIDAY RIDE Partners With THE MARINES TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION November 22 – December 15
BRING A NEW TOY FOR A TINY TOT &TAKE THE RIDE FOR FREE On The Magical Streets Of The City of Lights. CELEBRATE THE CELESTIAL LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS, HANUKKAH and KWANZA & MAKE A CHILD HAPPY
THE ICONIC 2nd Year HOLIDAY RIDE is all but Sold Out. Everybody knows this. Especially CEO/President Richard Humphrey who has just announced that he is adding fifty (50) extra HOLIDAY RIDES so that he can make three hundred (300) complimentary seats available to RIDERS who arrive at THE RIDE’S Box Office (234 West 42nd Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue – directly beside Madame Tussauds) bearing a new toy valued at $25 or more for a very deserving child. The gifts will be collected and distributed by THE MARINES TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION; one of the most admired and accomplished organizations in the world and one that THE RIDE is honored with which to be partnered. HONORED! The TOYS FOR TOTS initiative will run from Friday, November 22 through Sunday, December 15. THE RIDE Tickets are valued at $74. Patrons may present their toy/gift at the time of purchase and receive their ticket in exchange for their charitable donation. THE ICONIC 2nd Year HOLIDAY RIDE will run through January 5, 2014.The happiness that THE MARINES TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION will deliver throughout New York will last far past January 5, 2014.
About Marine Toys for Tots Foundation
OVERVIEW: Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, an IRS recognized 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity is the fundraising, funding and support organization for the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. The Foundation was created at the behest of the U. S. Marine Corps and provides support in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commander, Marine Forces Reserve, who directs the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. The Foundation has supported Toys for Tots since 1991.
GOVERNANCE: Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is governed by a board of directors, all of whom are successful business leaders from throughout the nation. All directors served as U. S. Marines. The Foundation’s professional staff is headquartered in the Cooper Center, which is located just outside the main gate of Marine Corps Base, Quantico, about 35 miles south of Washington, DC.
PRODUCTIVITY: Over the years the Foundation supplemented local campaigns with tens of millions of toys valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. Additionally, the Foundation provides approximately one million dollars worth of promotional and support materials to local campaigns each year.
MISSION: The mission of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is to assist the U. S. Marine Corps in providing a tangible sign of hope to economically disadvantaged children at Christmas. This assistance includes supporting the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program by raising funds to provide toys to supplement the collections of local Toys for Tots campaigns, to provide promotional and support material and defray the costs of conducting annual Toys for Tots campaigns. Other Foundation support includes providing administrative, advisory, financial, logistic and promotional support to local Toys for Tots Coordinators; managing funds raised and monies donated based on the use of Toys for Tots name or logo; providing other support the Marine Corps, as a federal agency, cannot provide; and conducting public education and information programs about Toys for Tots that call the general public to action in support of this patriotic community action program.
GOAL: The primary goal of the Foundation is the same as that of the overall Toys for Tots Program: i.e. – to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them into becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.
OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the Foundation are the same as those of the overall Toys for Tots program: i.e. – to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; an to contribute to improving communities in the future.
ACTIVITIES: The Foundation engages in two categories of activities: Program Services and Support Services.
Program Services
TOY DISTRIBUTION: This is the process of obtaining and delivering toys to local Toys for Tots Coordinators and providing the support and assistance those Coordinators need to conduct effective toy collection and distribution campaigns in their communities. Toys are a combination of those purchased by the Foundation and those donated by corporations. Support of Local Coordinators: This involves arranging the creation, publication, manufacture and delivery of an array of promotion and support materials to local
COORDINATORS: It includes managing all financial matters for local Coordinators as well as updating and publishing a manual for the conduct of local programs. Concisely stated, this activity encompasses providing a wide range of support to approximately 700 local Toys for Tots Coordinators and their support groups. Today, there are nearly 25,000 Marines, Marine Corps League members, veteran Marines and volunteers involved in annual campaigns.
EDUCATION: The Foundation conducts an annual public information and education campaign. This activity is designed to give the general public a clear understanding of the benefits that accrue to individuals, communities and the nation from Toys for Tots. It increases visibility and name recognition, and calls the general public support of Toys for Tots. The campaign includes distributing a series of news releases, distributing TV and radio public service announcements, publishing newsletters arranging media events and appearances, arranging for national corporations to incorporate information about Toys for Tots into their paid advertisements, conducting special events, maintaining a website and distributing educational material about Toys for Tots to the general public.
THE CELEBRATED MOTOR COACHES
There are four of them. Together they make up New York’s spectacular fleet of traveling theatres created for group exhilaration and audience participation. An audience, which in this case, happens to be the hundreds of people on the streets of mid-town Manhattan. THE RIDE was inaugurated on OCTOBER 11, 2010 to across-the-board critical acclaim. On May 3, 2012 CEO/President Richard Humphrey launched THE RIDE’S Second Season with the introduction of THE Fazzino RIDE, several new motor coaches, a new cast, new themes, new management and a new Box Office located at Madame Tussauds on 42nd Street in Times Square. More across-the-board critical acclaim. More added performances. The motor coaches are events in their own right. They are specifically designed theatrical vehicles; the tallest allowed by federal law, fitted with stadium-style seating that orients the 49 fortunate participants sideways so as to look through the massive windows that deliver New York as the most successful Broadway show on earth. These multi-million dollar coaches are equipped with surround sound, 3,000 LED lights and 40 video screens. They are, in essence, rolling state-of-the-art theatres that introduce their travelling audiences to an interactive experience that only the most interactive city in the western hemisphere could deliver. Each motor coach’s external speakers and lighting allow riders and on-board performers to interact with THE RIDE’S street performers as well as anyone else they pass on the street. THE RIDE is an EVENT whether you are on the bus or on the street. But it’s better on the bus.