Published: Nov. 19, 1998

University of Colorado basketball fans can help needy children in Boulder County this holiday season by donating toys at upcoming menÂ’s and womenÂ’s games.

The Nov. 28 womenÂ’s games and Dec. 5 menÂ’s game will host a toy drive to benefit the Toys for Tots program. Donations of new, unwrapped toys will be accepted at the door.

The Nov. 28 game features the Coors Classic womenÂ’s consolation game at 5 p.m. and the championship game at 7 p.m. The Dec. 5 menÂ’s game features ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ vs. Idaho State at 7 p.m. All games are held at the Coors Events/Conference Center on the Boulder campus.

Toys will be collected by Marines from the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Naval ROTC and will be donated to the Toys for Tots program for Boulder area families. Toys for Tots is a national program started by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve that has collected more than 231 million toys during the last 50 years. Local organizations then distribute the toys in the areas in which they are collected.

Marines from ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Naval ROTC also are teaming up with ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Boulder's Staff Council to conduct a toy drive with departments across campus. Both new and used toys will be collected at sites across campus from Dec. 1 through Dec. 15. All new toys that are collected will be donated to the Toys for Tots program. Gently-used toys will be donated to the Share A Gift organization, part of the Holiday Food Basket program that will distribute food, gifts and coats to needy Boulder families Dec. 19-20.

The toy drives are co-sponsored by the Marines in the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Naval ROTC, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Boulder Staff Council, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Boulder Office of Community Relations, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ Athletic Department and the Chancellor's Office.