(NewsUSA) - Across the Nation,41% of children in the United States live at or below the poverty level. These children face obstacles and hardships every day of the year, and their parents struggle to provide even basic necessities. As the holiday season approaches, these parents feel the effects of record-high inflation more than ever, and they simply lack the means to buy gifts for their bright-eyed and hopeful children.

Marine Toys for Tots, known by most as the flagship children’s Christmastime charity, has expanded its mission and now provides year-round joy, comfort, and hope to economically disadvantaged children across the Nation through the gift of a new toy, book or game.

“As part of our Program’s year-round mission, we continue to look for ways to provide comfort and emotional relief to children living in poverty,” says LtGen Jim Laster, CEO of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

The need continues throughout the year, not only during the holiday season.  This month, Marine Toys for Tots encourages supporters to contribute in honor of Child Poverty Day, which took place on October 17, and be part of a better, brighter chapter in the lives of economically disadvantaged children.

 “Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders, and together we can provide hope for a brighter tomorrow and remind them that, no matter their circumstances, no doors are closed to them in life,” says LtGen Laster.

With your support, Marine Toys for Tots helps children expand their horizons and provides them with the tools they need to learn and grow. That’s the unparalleled power of play: its ability to stretch imaginations, spur development, and help America’s children dream big.

With any donation, you provide educational books, toys, games, and other gifts that children in need would never have access to otherwise. In the short term, you will provide an immediate boost to the quality of life for these children; in the long term, you will show them that they matter, and that there is hope for a brighter future.

Visit toysfortots.org for more information. The support you provide today will bring joy to the lives, nourishment to the minds, and hope to the hearts of our Nation’s children!