Happy Hour: A Brief History of Toys for Tots

From its humble beginnings in 1947, the wife of a Marine Reserve Major wanted to
donate dolls to a charity that would distribute the toys to children in need. She
convinced her husband to create one. He looked to fellow Marine reservists to get the
job done. The project was a huge success and was officially adopted by the Marine
Corps in 1948 and went nationwide almost immediately.

Today, Toys for Tots is recognized as an official activity of the Marine Corps and part of
the official mission of the Marine Corps Reserve. For the past 77 years, the Toys for Tots
program along with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve have led a campaign to collect new
and unwrapped toys, providing millions of gifts annually to underprivileged children
during the holiday season.

Today’s Happy Hour guest speaker is Major Gunnar Spafford, USMC (Ret.) who is the
Deputy Vice President of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. The Foundation has
supported Toys for Tots since 1991. Major Spafford will describe the history of Toys for
Tots and how it has become a worldwide program. The Major will also explain the goals
of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

This ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Sandhills Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free to attend, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required to receive the webinar link.

About Major Gunnar Spafford, USMC (Ret.)



Major Spafford joined the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation in August 2023 as the Deputy Vice President of Business Development working within the Marketing & Development department. Major Spafford served in the United States Marine Corps as both an enlisted infantryman and a military police officer before being competitively selected for the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program to receive education and training to become a Marine Corps Officer.

As a Military Policeman, he served in multiple billets to include Assistant Special Operations Chief, Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of a weapons storage facility, Watch Command, Patrol Supervisor, Special Reaction Team (SRT), and SRT sniper. As an officer, Major Spafford served as Deputy Provost Marshal, Executive Officer, Operations Officer, and Senior Operations Officer before fulfilling his final role as a Manpower Program Manager for Headquarters Marine Corps, Manpower & Reserve Affairs.

After 25 total years of service, Gunnar retired from the Marine Corps and continued as a strategic and innovative Project Management Professional with a diverse background in program leadership and process improvements, most recently working as the Deputy Director for Manpower & Personnel for the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Manpower and Reserve Affairs.