Marine Helicopter helps Santa with toy lift

Marine helicopter picks up toys collected by students for children in need
William and Mary
by Erin Zagursky
December 6, 2013

Who needs Santa and his reindeer when you have a Marine helicopter and the Griffin?

A Marine CH-46E touched down at the Williamsburg Jamestown Airport on Thursday afternoon to pick up Toys-for-Tots donations collected by students in William and Mary’s Part-Time Flex MBA program. The Griffin, wearing a floppy Santa hat on one of its ears, joined the students as they loaded dozens of toys onto the aircraft to be delivered to Naval Station Norfolk, where Marines will sort and distribute them next week.

“It feels really good to provide a smile to children who maybe wouldn’t get one over Christmas,” said Erin Miller, a student in the program. “It’s nice to give back and do something for them.”

The helicopter pickup was the brainchild of Maj. Paul Minihan, a Marine reservist who is also the president of the MBA Flex Program’s student association. He and Miller, who is vice president of the association, collected the toys at William and Mary’s Peninsula Center, which is located in the Oyster Point section of Newport News. The two were looking for outreach activities to do in the fall and spring and decided on Toys for Tots because of Paul’s connection to the Marines. Miller’s husband is also a retired military member.
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Dec 6, 2013
A Marine CH-46E touched down at the Williamsburg Airport to pick up Toys-for-Tots donations collected by students in William and Mary's Flex MBA program.