Whitehall rallies, saves Toys for Tots

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By Matthew Saari

In the face of obstacles caused by corporate America, nearly every organization in Whitehall is coming together this holiday season to ensure that less fortunate children have a Merry Christmas.

Members of the Whitehall Police Department, Whitehall Volunteer Fire Company and Whitehall Elks Lodge 1491, along with Good Samaritans from the community, converged on American Legion Post 83 Monday night and devised a plan to ensure Whitehall’s annual Toys for Tots tradition continues – with or without corporate sponsorship.

“I hate to start with an apology but I apologize…[Canadian Pacific] Rail and Amtrak pulled out on us,” said Billy Neary, community liaison for the Toys for Tots program. “We had a golden program here…we were kind of riding on that; we got a lot of support from big corporations; we got a lot of money, we got a lot of support for Toys for Tots and then all of a sudden this year we were stabbed in the back.”

In August, Amtrak, citing new company guidelines, announced it would no longer charter a train to carry U.S. Marines and Toys for Tots reps on their charitable journey through North Country communities.

 

This is only a preview of the story published in the Whitehall Times. To read the full story, pick up a print copy of this week’s paper at the newsstand or read it online here.