Community Corner
Trivia Toy Drive Benefits Marines
First Lieutenant Luke Postma and Sergeant Ryan Lentz of the 3rd Battalion 5th Unit marines at Camp Pendleton attend Iron in the Fire's second annual Trivia for Tots.
If you knew the exact age of Justin Bieber or the official birth date of the Marine Corps, you may have been on a winning team at the second annual Trivia for Tots Charity event Tuesday night at restaurant.
The restaurant at the hosted the charity toy drive to benefit the Marine families of Camp Pendleton. An unwrapped gift was the ticket to a night of happy-hour specials, three-dollar tacos and fun games for the entire family.
All gifts and monetary donations went to the families of the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines at Camp Pendleton.
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Inspired by , San Clemente local Maryann Taylor had the idea to combine trivia with charity and teamed up with restaurant assistant manager Wendy Henderson two years ago to create the event.
In its second year, patrons of the event had the honor of meeting two Marines from the unit. First Lt. Luke Postma and Sgt. Ryan Lentz made an appearance at the event to pick up the donations and deliver them back to Camp Pendleton.
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“It’s really nice to see that people actually care about the Marines in a physical sense, outside of just saying ‘Thank you for your service,’” said Postma, who has family living in the San Clemente area.
The 3rd Battalion 5th Marines was deployed to Afghanistan October 2010 for seven months and returned home earlier this April.
“Our Marines weren’t able to be with their families last Christmas, so this is a really great way for them to make it up to them,” said Postma. “I know that it really means a lot to the families.”
Postma and Lentz got an extra special "thank You" when trivia winners made the decision to donate the prizes won during the trivia game back to the Marines.
These items included cash prizes, gift certificates and a bottle of wine.
The two Marines were invited to participate in the fun by auctioning themselves off to the highest bidding team to join them in a round of questions. The money gained from the auction was also contributed to the Marine unit’s toy and gift fund.
Taylor and Henderson said they hope to continue Trivia for Tots in the years to come, making it a bigger and more personal experience for both patrons and Marines.
