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Marines donate “Toys for Tots” to Osage County families in need

The Osage Detachment No. 669 of the Marine Corps League, in conjunction with a Broken Arrow-based Marine unit, gave out hundreds of toys to county children on Dec. 18 as part of the annual Toys for Tots Christmas tradition. This year, the Osage Nation Social Services Agency is among those benefitting from the toy drive because the ongoing tribal budget impasse is limiting its spending on presents for its underage clients.

The Toys for Tots program, which targets needy children, comes at a crucial time to the Osage Nation because its 2010 fiscal year budget has yet to be passed. As a result, the Social Services Agency is not able to buy Christmas toys for 19 Osage children – currently in tribal custody – because of the one-twelfth government spending restriction in place.

“We weren’t able to provide the toys like last year,” said Eddie Screech Owl Jr., a social worker supervisor for the Nation. Each year, the Social Services Agency buys toys during the Christmas season for children in tribal custody who are in pre-adoptive placements, on the Family Preservation Program caseload, and those identified as needy during child welfare investigations, according to agency director Lee Collins.

On Friday, officials with the Marine Corps League were joined by Marines with the Anti-Tank Training Company Headquarters, 4th Marine Division as they distributed about 1,200 toys around Osage County. The Toys for Tots effort visited communities including Hominy, Barnsdall, Skiatook and Pawhuska.

“There’s toys in here that people cannot afford to buy and we’re giving them away,” said John Henry Mashunkashey, junior vice commandant for the MCL Osage Detachment. “If they send us word that they’re short on toys then we’ll contact the Anti-Tank Training Company and get toys,”

Since the 2008 fiscal year, Osage Nation Congress has approved funding requested by the Executive Branch for the Social Services Agency to be able to provide Christmas, birthday and graduation gifts for Osage children on the program’s caseloads.

Toys for Tots, a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve program started in 1947 distributing toys to underprivileged children nationwide.


By

Osage News


Original Publish Date: 2009-12-22 00:00:00

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  • Osage News Staff

    Stories that are not primarily written by an Osage News staff member will have a “Osage News” byline. These stories include press releases and other community content that was drafted by someone externally but reviewed and approved for publication by Osage News. As an independent news organization, we strive to report news and information with fairness and balance. While being the official news organization of the Osage Nation, we base our news judgements on our loyalties to our readers and Osage citizens, and we are not directly beholden to the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial branches of the Osage Nation.

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Osage News Staff
Osage News Staffhttps://osagenews.org
Stories that are not primarily written by an Osage News staff member will have a “Osage News” byline. These stories include press releases and other community content that was drafted by someone externally but reviewed and approved for publication by Osage News. As an independent news organization, we strive to report news and information with fairness and balance. While being the official news organization of the Osage Nation, we base our news judgements on our loyalties to our readers and Osage citizens, and we are not directly beholden to the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial branches of the Osage Nation.
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