MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — You can call John Dickson the toy man of Monroe County. For the past 20 years, he's made sure presents are under the tree for just about every kid in need in Monroe County.
"Anybody could be Santa, and Santa's in everybody's heart, and there's nothing wrong with that," Dickson said.
The annual collection is put on by the Marine Corps Reserves. Dickson was recently honored by them as the number one Toys for Tots coordinator in the country.
Several toys have already made their way to the Armed Forces Career Center near Stroudsburg, one of the many drop-off locations.
"It's definitely something that we love to do, and we have pride ourselves very deeply with the amount of help we could actually support for the local community," Staff Sgt. Patrick Blake, U.S. Marine Corps.
More than 100 gift boxes will be set up throughout the Monroe County community. Some businesses are offering incentives to donate.
"If someone comes to drop off a toy, we give them a free pretzel. And next week, we'll also be starting, if you come to drop off, you'll get a free pretzel, and we'll enter your name into a drawing for the holidays where we will be giving away a party tray for Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve," said Sam Lake, Philly Pretzel Factory owner.
Monroe County Toys for Tots helps the East Stroudsburg Salvation Army and Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network near Brodheadsville do toy distributions each year.
Dickson says they couldn't do this without the community's support.
"The Toys for Tots motto is, 'Every child deserves a little Christmas.' I believe every child deserves a Christmas, and with the generosity of the people of Monroe County, we're able to give every child a Christmas."
Coordinators say toys are still needed for this year's distribution, especially for girls aged 6 to 8 and girls and boys aged 9 to 11.
Organizers hope to help 3,000 children in need. Toys will be given out next month.