Toys for Tots Provides Holiday Gifts to Native American Children

Benjy Orbach studied business administration and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree before beginning a career as an operations manager, where he oversaw activity in two Miami, Florida warehouses. Now residing in Metheun, Massachusetts, Benjy Orbach acts as an on-site leasing agent while also supporting charities, such as Toys for Tots, an organization that delivers gifts during the holiday season to underserved communities, including Native Americans.

Established in 1947, Toys for Tots started as an effort to bring gifts to children in need. Bill Hendricks, a major in the Marine Corps Reserves, launched the program and recruited his fellow marines to gather 5,000 toys and gift them to underprivileged children in the Los Angeles area. In 1980, the organization extended its efforts to assist the Navajo Nation, a community with whom the Marine Corps had maintained a relationship since World War II when members of the tribe provided coded communications to the military.

The program grew over the next several decades to include children from many other Native American tribes on reservations in Alaska, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington. Each year, Toys for Tots distributes toys and books to more than 180,000 Native American children.