Barnes & Noble Donates to Toys for Tots to Make the Holidays Brighter for Children in Need

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), the nation’s largest retail bookseller and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced a donation to The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to help make the holidays brighter for economically disadvantaged children. The donation features more than $200,000 worth of merchandise, comprising 20 pallets and more than 11,000 units of products, including a handpicked selection of puzzles, plush toys, board games, electronic games, infant toys and many more fun and educational toys and games. To make sure that Toys for Tots kids have even fuller stockings on Christmas morning, Barnes & Noble also donated a full pallet of candy.

A team of Marines unloads a pallet of toys and games from a Barnes & Noble truck at a Marine base in Brooklyn, NY. Barnes & Noble donated more than $200,000 worth of toys to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to help make the holidays brighter for economically disadvantaged children. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky for Barnes & Noble)

“We’re thrilled to support the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation with this donation, which will bring some extra holiday cheer to children in need this holiday season,” said Mike Huseby, Chief Executive Officer at Barnes & Noble. “One of our core goals at Barnes & Noble is to enrich the minds and lives of children and families, and we hope that this donation of some of the great products we offer in our stores will make a difference.”

“The Toys for Tots team is thankful to Barnes & Noble for this very generous donation at a time when our recipient families need it the most,” said Staff Sergeant Dustin Ramirez, Toys for Tots Coordinator. “To see pallet after pallet of fantastic toys and games rolling off the Barnes & Noble truck was a huge boost to us with little more than a week to go until Christmas.”

The team at the Barnes & Noble distribution center in Monroe, NJ, has been busy for the last few days rounding up some of the best of the toys and games that the company offers, and they delivered a full truckload to the Toys for Tots distribution center in Brooklyn on Monday.

“This is the busiest time of the year for us at the Barnes & Noble distribution center, but the team was so excited to load this particular truck,” said Rosa Baumanis Hakala, VP, Distribution and Logistics at Barnes & Noble. “Knowing that these toys and games are going to kids who really need them put us all in the holiday spirit. We felt like we were working in Santa’s workshop.”

For more information on Toys for Tots and to find out about donating, please visit www.toysfortots.org. For more information on Barnes & Noble, visit your local Barnes & Noble store or go online at www.bn.com.

About The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is a not for profit organization authorized by the U.S. Marine Corps and the Department of Defense to provide fundraising and other necessary support for the annual Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. Now in its 67th year, Toys for Tots provides joy and a message of hope to economically disadvantaged children through the gift of a new toy during the Christmas holiday season. Their gifts offer these children recognition and a positive memory they will cherish for a lifetime. Many of the gifts they provide, such as books, games and sports equipment, make a significant contribution to the educational, social and physical development of these children. In 2013, Marines distributed gifts to 6.8 million children in 762 communities nationwide. The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation relies on individual donations from the American public as well as support from corporate sponsors. For more information, visit www.toysfortots.org.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS) is a Fortune 500 company, the nation’s largest retail bookseller and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The Company operates 658 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites, BN.com (www.bn.com). Its NOOK Media LLC subsidiary is a leader in the emerging digital reading and digital education markets. The NOOK digital business offers award-winning NOOK® products and an expansive collection of digital reading and entertainment content through the NOOK Store® (www.nook.com), while Barnes & Noble College Booksellers LLC operates 714 bookstores serving over five million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained by visiting the Company's corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

Barnes & Noble®, Barnes & Noble Booksellers® and Barnes & Noble.com® are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. or its affiliates.

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