WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, respectively, today announced that the committee will again be sponsoring its annual Toys for Tots drive in honor of the upcoming holidays.

Earlier this year, the Senate unanimously passed S.Res.587, introduced by Isakson and Blumenthal, to permit the collection of charitable donations in Senate buildings during the holiday season.

“I’m delighted to once again host the United States Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots charity drive to help bring holiday cheer to children in Georgia and across the country,”said Isakson. “I encourage my Senate colleagues and their staff to join Senator Blumenthal and myself in participating in such a worthy cause.”       

“Toys for Tots is yet another example of how members of our military always go an extra mile to serve our communities and our country,” said Blumenthal. “By providing gifts to children who may not receive them otherwise, Toys for Tots spreads smiles from coast to coast each holiday season. I am pleased to join Senator Isakson in hosting this toy drive, and I encourage all who can to join in this joyful charity.”

Toys for Tots is an annual program conducted by the United States Marine Corps Reserve to collect toys for children in need.

The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will be accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys in drop-off boxes until December 7, 2016, when the Marines will collect all donations at an event held in the committee’s hearing room, 418 Russell Senate Office Building. Donation boxes are located in participating Senate offices as well as outside the committee’s hearing room.

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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 114th Congress. Isakson is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate VA Committee since he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of the military as well as more than 750,000 veterans.