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Alaska Air Cargo partners with US Marines for annual Toys For Tots delivery

Alaska Air Cargo partners with US Marines for annual Toys For Tots delivery
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Alaska Air Cargo has joined forces with the US Marines to deliver Christmas gifts to remote communities in Alaska. This collaboration, part of the Toys For Tots initiative, involves transporting 16,000 pounds of toys to 20 locations across the state. The program has been running for 14 years and aims to bring joy to over 8,000 children this holiday season.

Captain Tom Sharkey of Alaska Air Cargo, who has volunteered with Toys For Tots for many years, shared his thoughts on the initiative: "It’s an incredible feeling to give a child a toy, and you see the happiness and the joy. (...) I see them smiling and laughing when the boxes arrive. Doing this brings joy not only to me but to all the people involved. They have a significant impact on their communities, they really do. (...) I’m just a Christmas man."

The operation requires close cooperation between Alaska Air Cargo and various military divisions, including service members from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside Anchorage. Captain Michael McDonald explained that deliveries are made throughout Alaska: "We deliver toys all across the state, from down in Juneau all the way up to the far north in Barrow."

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Among those assisting are Marines from Guam participating in cold-weather Arctic training. Sharkey coordinates logistics for this large-scale operation and encourages his fellow service members: "Some [Marines] get a little skittish about landing in Kotzebue and Nome, and I keep telling them, 'If I can put a 143,000-pound jet on the Kotzebue runway, so can you.'"

The gifts were collected in 487 boxes through events like a skate night in Napa, California. The event was sponsored by Alaska Airlines with free admission for gift donors and featured an appearance by Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi.

Alaska Air Cargo currently operates five dedicated aircraft for airfreight transport—three Boeing 737-700(BDSF) planes averaging nearly 24 years old and two Boeing 737-800(BCF) planes around 17 years old.

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