Marines on Christmas march

No one would call them Santa's elves, although like the well-known Christmas workforce, the volunteers labored to package toys for shipment in preparation for the holiday.
Most of the volunteers are instead former Marines who on Thursday worked in military fashion to organize and load gifts as part of the area Marine Toys For Tots Foundation.
The gifts were being transferred to Central High School to provide for 1,330 families this Christmas.
Organization and keeping schedules are nothing new for lead organizer Bob Ross, who along with being a former Marine also used to work for United Parcel Service. Despite the fast pace, long hours and hectic schedule, Ross said he loves the work.
"When I'm going, I'm going full out all the time," Ross said with a quick smile. "But this program is a good thing. When parents go to pick out toys, they're just so thankful for this program so that they can have toys for their children."
Organizers were transporting the toys from donated storage space at U-Haul on Cortez Boulevard to the high school where the toys will be set up based on children's gender and ages.
On Saturday, Ross said the doors will be open from 8 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. to parents, with youth volunteers in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps and Young Marines groups guiding parents to where different toys are located.
Ross said he expects to serve about 140 families per hour.
Thanks to area donors, he said the event will provide not only toys, but food and drinks for those who've signed up to pick up the toys.
"The community really responds to this - I mean, thanks to these donations we're going to provide enough food and drink for everybody," Ross said. "And our volunteers - all I have to do is call and they're there. It really does take a special kind of person to put in this kind of work."
Dawn Bennett Johnson said her first year volunteering has been joyful so far and that she's looking forward to helping families on Saturday.
After becoming unemployed this year, she said she figured she might as well use her time constructively by giving more than just a donation.
"The unemployment rate is so high and there are so many people struggling," Johnson said. "Basically, we're all in this soup together."