The local Toys for Tots organization made its first delivery to the South End on Monday, said island coordinator Mike McClung of Coupeville.

The group delivered nearly 250 new toys to this year’s Holiday House, sponsored by the nonprofit Island County Readiness to Learn Foundation at the South Whidbey Primary School on Maxwelton Road.

Holiday House annually provides new gifts for local children whose families may not be able to afford them.

Toys for Tots is a nationwide program begun in 1947 in Los Angeles by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

The Whidbey Island part of the program is coordinated by about 28 retired Marine veterans who are members of the Marine Corps League, McClung said.

This year the local group hopes to provide about 1,400 children with new gifts; last year, more than 1,300 children benefited, McClung said.

The local Toys for Tots program distributes toys to four nonprofit organizations on the island: Holiday Houses on both South and Central Whidbey, along with the Tree of Hope and Fostering Together Island County.

“Everything donated on the island stays on the island,” McClung said.

He said members of his organization will be collecting new, unwrapped toys at the Clinton Ferry Terminal this weekend from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

The organization also has more than 75 drop-off boxes around the island, including several at commercial locations and churches in the South End.

McClung said the number of donations this year are lagging a little behind last year, probably because of the economy, but added: “We’re still surprised at the generosity of people.”

To donate, or to determine if you qualify for the Toys for Tots program, call 321-1201 or visit www.whidbey_island_wa.toysfortots.org.