The Order Of The Friendly Sons Of The Shillelagh

And his name Tom Dunn, Gunny to most of us. Not to be put off by his recent medical woes, Gunny with aided by a  stubborn streak a mile wide as well as family, friends and fellow Marines, led his Toys for Tots campaign once again at the Friendly Sons. Toys for Tots has for most of us become as much a part of the season as Bing Crosby, Charlie Brown and Black Friday. If a persons only view of the world was the five o'clock news they might be excused for becoming a little cynical. At times it can seem like the world is just one bad story soon to be followed up by another. But occasionlly, just occasionally a little light gets through.

If I ask myself, "Are we the only organization out there that cares?" I get an immediate and emphatic, "No!" There are organizations all over this nation doing the exact same thing. All working to help their neighbours. Why do we do it? We want to and because people like Tom step forward giving us the opportunity to be better than we could ever hope to be. Its a wonderful thing to be a part of something that's bigger than you. Whether it's the organizing, advertising, cooking, cleaning, bartending, donating., collecting, boxing... you put it all together and it's quite a feat.

When the final numbers come in you'll see that thousands of dollars were raised by the FSOS and folks were happy to contribute. But it's not about the money. It never is. It's about being part of a community. It's about ordinary people coming together to make a difference in someones life. It's about the look on  a child's face on Christmas morning when they open a gift.

Because... there really is a Santa Claus... and you can't put a price on that... can you.

Merry Christmas Gunny.

More Photos By John DeMaio and Dave Cummins