Toys for Tots is the Nation’s flagship children’s Christmastime charity, but the program extends to helping children and families in need year-round. The Toys for Tots Youth Ambassador Program was established in 2020 to celebrate the energy, enthusiasm and pure generosity of exceptional young people around the country who volunteer their time serving underprivileged children and help teach the value of service to others of the next generation. In 2020, Toys for Tots President & CEO Lieutenant General James Laster learned of two outstanding young individuals from Texas, Christopher and Taylor Bracey, who were going above and beyond to serve those less fortunate in their community.
After traveling to Texas to meet the siblings, Lt Gen Laster appointed them as Toys for Tots’ first-ever Youth Ambassadors, and in 2021 the Youth Ambassador Program was expanded to include eight additional members across the Nation who have also distinguished themselves with their volunteer efforts for Toys for Tots. A Youth Ambassador is a member of a select group of our Nation’s youth who serve as volunteer representatives of Toys for Tots by helping to inspire others with their positive interactions with community involvement with the Toys for Tots Program.
The Youth Ambassadors are nominated by their local Coordinator and are then selected to represent their respective Regions for a one-year term. “Kids helping kids,” is a powerful message that resonates among all demographics whose active engagement becomes contagious in helping those less fortunate,” says Lt Gen Laster. Youth who apply and are invited to become Ambassadors work with their local Toys for Tots Coordinator, who will serve as a mentor for the children and their parents. Youth Ambassadors are selected to represent their local campaigns because they have gone above and beyond in their communities to help those less fortunate and engage community members on behalf of Toys for Tots. Each of the current Youth Ambassadors support local toy drives and distributions during campaign season, as well as other endeavors throughout the year such as, sending baskets to military members, assisting with food drives and helping with church charities, and exhibiting tremendous leadership skills as Officers in the Young Marines Program.
The 2021 Youth Ambassadors are Taylor and Christopher Bracey, Mila Lang, Rorilynn McClay, Mary Wohlwend, Janah Moorer, Leah Hutchinson, Susan Suber, Kimber Doyle and Natalie Dahm. These extraordinary young people continue to make a difference in their communities through peer awareness and working with their local Toys for Tots campaigns on a range of projects to help those less fortunate, while also maintaining high academic standards at school.
