Pelco News Release - December 9, 2004
For Immediate Release
Pelco Employees Donate 141,934 Toys for Tots
Clovis, California (December 9, 2004) – Employees of local video
security systems manufacturer, Pelco, presented 141,934 Toys for Tots to the
U.S. Marine Corps during a fun-filled ceremony today at the company’s Clovis,
California, headquarters. For the past four years, Pelco’s donations –
averaging over 115,000 toys each year – have been acclaimed by Toys for Tots
National CEO, Lt. General Matthew Cooper (ret.), as being the largest made in
the country and some of the largest ever in the program’s fifty-year history.
The festive occasion, which began with a parade and truckloads of toys, was
attended by local dignitaries and press, numerous Marine Corps personnel, and
over 1,300 cheering Pelco employees. This donation alone will allow the Marines
meet their local area goal – ensuring that every identified needy child will
receive at least one gift during the holidays. On behalf of the U.S. Marine
Corps, Lieutenant Colonel Rosser O. Baker Jr. accepted this year’s donation
from Pelco.
Pelco President and CEO David L. McDonald stated, “This year’s
donation of 141,934 toys is an astonishing accomplishment – and a wonderful
tribute to this great Pelco family. This is a year-round remarkable effort by
hundreds of dedicated Pelco people. We believe that the children in our society
are truly the innocent ones. And no matter their unfortunate circumstances, we
cannot leave them behind. This is our way of reaching out and making a small,
positive difference to tens of thousands of needy children – all at once.
Without our employees’ generosity, these children might have no Christmas at
all. There can be no more worthy cause than this.” The company matches
one-for-one the number of toys donated by employees.
Pelco’s history with Toys for Tots began in 1993 with a modest
donation of 808 toys. Since then, it has grown steadily to where it is now the
company’s “flagship” charity. Pelco employees raise money throughout the year
with dozens of activities such as raffles, bake sales, and solicitations from
suppliers and customers. An annual Masquerade Ball has now become one of the
newest, highly successful fundraising activities. There’s even a payroll
deduction available just for Toys for Tots. It is a massive, grass-roots effort
supported by nearly all of the company’s workforce of over 1,800 people.
Pelco is the world’s largest manufacturer of video security
systems and Central California’s largest manufacturing employer. The company
produces over 5,500 different finished products, which are sold through more
than 4,000 authorized dealers throughout the United States and in 130 other
countries around the world. Pelco video security systems are protecting people
and property in more than one million locations throughout the world. The
company’s long list of prestigious installations includes the 2004 Summer
Olympic Games in Athens, the 2004 Republican National Convention, London’s
Buckingham Palace, the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the San
Francisco International Airport, the Panama Canal, the FBI, U.S. Navy warships,
and the Statue of Liberty in New York.
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