With a majority of the Utah corps busy this holiday season in service to country, Bell has launched a campaign to organize local bloggers and volunteers in an effort to lend a hand, and remind the public of all that local Marines are doing above and beyond their military duties, a reality driven home with increasing frequency in their absence.

Of the local media coverage, Bell has written:

KTVX, Utah's Channel 4 ABC affiliate,  is running ads for the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. However, when you watch the ads, you'd be lucky if you could tell that the USMC was anything other than a silent, junior partner in the whole affair. I'm talking chiefly about their mass media marketing. Funny enough, the website seems to have the proper balance. Go figure.

Over the last 17 years, I've lived in and out of Utah and I've watched a lot of television. In Colorado, Washington, Minnesota, Arizona, California, Washington DC and Oregon, when the TV stations decide to sponsor the USMC Toys for Tots program, the leave the ownership of the program where it belongs: with the Marines. Not so at KTVX.

Throughout the Utah blogosphere, those at JMBell.org have leveraged their contacts online and in the local media in an organized effort to drive publicity to the decades of work the Corps has dedicated to the program, and in hopes of activating a blogswarm soliciting volunteers, donations, and support for the overburdened Marines.  

90% of the Marine force in Utah is busy this holiday season. 180 Marines currently deployed in Iraq and another 100 busy training for their 2008 deployment means that there are not enough Marines in Utah to pick up and distribute toys.

The Marines are very short staffed for the distribution weeks and need your help.

Beginning with fellow progressive bloggers, the effort quickly spread, with constant links to Bell's post Volunteer for The US Marine Corps this Christmas - Marines Undermanned for Toys For Tots.  The first reaction to the effort and Bell's criticism of the media was one simple, inspiring comment:

OOH-RAH! This problem puts sand in my ... boots ... every year. I actually put my Blues on, years ago, to appear in one of their commercials. They cut us out due to "time", but added a shot of reporters collecting toys. Nice.  The First Sergeant in charge of the area is supposed to crack down on partners who basically take credit for the program without mentioning (or completely marginalizing) the Marine Corps' program. If only it were that easy. See, if he yanks the program out from under the advertiser (which he has the authority to do), in this case KTVX, he loses the FREE advertising that brings in toys. And then he has to find new partners to get the word out. Generally on his own time. And there is no budget. It's entirely a volunteer program. Given that Marines focus on the mission (in this case, getting Toys For Tots), and not on getting their due credit, you'll see advertisers take full advantage.

Critics of the TV spots run by KTVX point to what they feel is the marginalizing of the Marine Corps efforts in the Toys for Tots program, as media outlets often claim ownership in their reporting.  KTVX has participated in the program for 14 of the past 30 years it has been organized in Utah.

Bell, by energizing local bloggers and volunteers, hopes to draw the spotlight back onto the Marine Corps involvement in Toys for Tots, and their need for additional hands this year with the Corps stretched thin, rather than "pictures of reporters" collecting donations.  

Utah readers interested in getting involved can find more information at JM Bell.org, the Toys for Tots website, or any number of links found on the Utah Bloghive.