MADISON – Dozens of children were fortunate to have a brighter Christmas morning because of the outreach of a venerable organization in the military and helpful members of a local civic club.

“Every year, the Valley Vettes Corvette Club donates to an organization that we feel needs our help,” club publicist Vic van Leeuwen of Madison said. “It’s Christmas, so this time we collected over 40 toys for the Marine Reserve’s Toys for Tots program.”

“Being a car club, we, of course, collected mostly RC (radio controlled) cars and trucks, because we know that kids love them,” van Leeuwen said. “Two of our members, Allan and Jan Williamson, delivered a large box full of toys to the Marine Reserve Center on Research Drive.”

The basic mission of the Marine Reserve’s Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys for distribution to less fortunate children at Christmas. The gift of a new toy can help to bring the joy of Christmas and send a message of hope to America’s children in need.

The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation was created in 1991 at the Marine Corps’ request. The foundation is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit public charity.

The Toys for Tots Foundation assists in providing day-to-day leadership and program oversight, fundraising for toys to supplement collections of local campaigns and helping to defray the costs of conducting annual Toys for Tots campaigns.

Members in Valley Vettes Corvette Club “love the Corvette, honoring veterans and serving the community,” according to the club’s website. (vetswithvettes.org) The club is open to any Corvette owner, along with individuals with a mania for the Corvette automobile and its rich heritage.

The club welcomes original stockers, concourse-ready show cars, heavily modified street/strip versions, ‘rolling restoration’ project cars and personal vehicles. Being a military veteran is not a membership prerequisite.

The club participates in local car shows, ‘cruises,’ monthly get-togethers and activities not related to automobiles. Their major events are the annual charity car show in April, Huntsville Veterans Day Parade and Madison Street Festival’s Car Show.

The club’s mailing address is P. O. Box 51, Madison, AL 35758. To join, print and mail the application on the website, or visit vetswithvettes.org and click the “Join” button.