Barona Resort & Casino (Barona) is helping to make the holiday season a little brighter for deserving children through the annual United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots gift drive.

Barona staff members and guests are encouraged to donate new, unwrapped toys Friday, Nov. 20 through Thursday, Dec. 17 at various collection sites at Barona Resort & Casino to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.  The donated toys will be collected and distributed to children in need throughout the San Diego community.  In 2008, Barona staff and guests collected more than 6,500 toys for the program and the goal is to collect even more this year.  

“Everyone at Barona looks forward to Toys for Tots every year because it puts smiles and joy to so many children and families during the holiday season,” said Edwin “Thorpe” Romero, chairman of the Barona Band of Mission Indians. “This is one of those programs that truly unites our Tribal members, staff and guests for a common cause. I’d like to thank those that have been so generous in the past and ask for their support again this year when there are more children in need than ever before.”

Club Barona members will also benefit from giving back by donating toys to the Club Barona collection booths.  Those that participate will be awarded 1,000 Club Barona myPOINTS for donating one toy, 5,000 points for three toys, and 10,000 points for five toys.
    
From 1991 to 2005, the Toys for Tots Foundation raised $344 million in local toy collections. The goal of Toys for Tots is to spark hope in underprivileged children and help to motivate them to become driven and responsible leaders. For further information or to make a donation online, please visit the official Toys for Tots Web Site.

For two consecutive years in 2008 and 2009, Barona Resort & Casino has won the J.D. Power and Associates Award for the “Highest in Satisfaction in the Southern California Indian Casino Gaming Experience” in the J.D. Power and Associates Southern California Indian Gaming Casino Satisfaction Study. Barona Resort & Casino blends the best of San Diego’s most elegant resorts with the gaming excitement of Las Vegas. Barona is San Diego’s leading destination resort featuring 400 luxury guest rooms and suites, 11 award-winning dining options, the AmBience Day Spa, a full-service events center and the 18-hole championship Barona Creek Golf Club, rated the 3rd best resort course in California by Golfweek magazine. For Barona Resort & Casino reservations and information, visit www.barona.com, or call toll free 888-7-BARONA (722-7662).
 Barona Resort & Casino received the highest numerical score in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2008-2009 Indian Gaming Casino StudiesSM—Southern California Region.  The 2009 study, which only surveys casinos with a minimum of 1,000 slot machines, is based on 4,452 responses from gaming players who visited an Indian casino in Southern California between December 2008 and May 2009.  Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in May, 2009. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

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