Related Items:
3rd Annual Toys For Tots Holiday Fundraiser Auction Schedule
2nd Annual Toys For Tots Holiday Fundraiser
1st Annual Toys For Tots Holiday Fundraiser

Total Amount Raised: $7,000

Performance Ski & Surf rider Rusty Malinoski signs his board/binding package for one lucky bidder.

I guess I have no reason to be amazed at the response we received for our 3rd Annual Toys For Tots Holiday Fundraiser. After all, our great sponsors and you, the readers, have been coming through in a big way for three years now. The fact that you nearly doubled last year's totals by raising $7,000 for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys For Tots program probably shouldn't be a big shock. However, I'm still stunned that we've managed to funnel nearly $15,000 towards underpriveliged children over the last three Christmas seasons! Not only that, but 40 lucky WakeWorld readers got some great deals on wakeboarding gear packages in our 2006 auctions alone.

Here are the companies and individuals that generously kicked in some goods to make this happen...

CWB Board Co. MasterCraft Performance Ski & Surf Roswell Wake Air Got River? X-Ray Eyewear Orlando Wake Academy Danny Hampson (Liquid Force) Jet Pilot

Proline So Cal Watersports The Riders Edge DVD Monster Tower OnlyInboards.com Fresh Air Exhaust Taylor McCullough (Liquid Force) Bullet Lines Shred Ready

The whole idea was to put together some kind of charity event as we head into the holiday season each year. Suggestions from sponsors gave us the push we needed to put together an auction of wakeboarding packages for charity and it's been going great for three years now. Toys For Tots seemed like a great charity to receive the benefits from our fundraiser since they spread so much goodwill throughout the holiday season.

U.S Marines flank a truckload of toys donated to Toys for Tots

Toys For Tots collects new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year and distributes those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community. The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a shiny new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to needy youngsters that will motivate them to grow into responsible, productive, patriotic citizens and community leaders.

So I'm standing there with $7,000 to spend on toys wondering if it's even possible to do so. My truck is a full size long-bed one-ton, so I figured I had plenty of hauling capacity. The tough part, as always, is pushing that many shopping carts through the store during the busy hoiday season. I enlisted the help of my wife and three children, so we had a five-cart caravan rolling through our local Wal-Mart. I challenged each of them to fill their carts with as many toys as they could.

Last year we were pretty proud of ourselves because we managed to spend $1,200 on four carts and a few bikes. This year, we put that mark to shame by filling five carts with 227 toys worth over $3,000 (see extra-long receipt below). We also picked up five BMX bikes. I was a little shocked to find that it was tight getting everything crammed into the truck. Luckily, it wasn't a long drive to the Marine Corps drop off. The other $4,000 was donated to Toys For Tots in cash.

Thanks to all the great sponsors that made this benefit possible! Please give the following companies your consideration when making future wake-related purchases: CWB Board Co., MasterCraft, Performance Ski & Surf, Roswell Wake Air, Got River?, X-Ray Eyewear, Orlando Wake Academy, Danny Hampson (Liquid Force), Jet Pilot, Proline, So Cal Watersports, The Riders Edge DVD, Monster Tower, OnlyInboards.com, Fresh Air Exhaust, Taylor McCullough (Liquid Force), Bullet Lines and Shred Ready.

Special mention goes to CWB Board Co. and their pro riders, Zane Schwenk, Andrew Adkison and Trevor Hansen, for coming up with the packages that generated the most money, nearly $2,000!

Thanks to everybody involved. Be sure to tune in next year and we'll do it again!

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