FEATURE: Geeks For Tots

Geeks For Tots is an campaign that provides an incentive to toy collectors to help-out a less fortunate child by making donations to the Toys For Tots program. If you're not familiar with Toys For Tots it's a non-profit organisation that collects brand-new toy donations, which are then given to children in an attempt to ensure no child has a toy-less Christmas. Donations can be made online or you can purchase a toy and then donate it at a variety of drop-off points (you'll find them at Toys R Us, for example.)

When you participate in the Toys For Tots program you're not only helping to brighten the Christmas of a less-fortunate child but - if you take a photo and email it to the Geeks For Tots campaign - you could also stand the chance of winning some very cool prizes in return for helping out. But if that's still not incentive enough, then maybe the following will help motivate you.

I remember as a child - probably around 7 or 8 years old - that there was one Christmas where I was particularly lucky. My sister, brother and I had all received some amazing gifts and were very pleased with our toy and present haul. 

One of the kids who lived nearby - a ''sort of'' friend of my brother's -  came around to play with him and to see what the big guy had brought for him this Christmas. As my brother showed him the various toys he'd received - a remote controlled UFO, an Action Man tank, a bunch of model kits, a toy rifle and more - our visitor's lip began to tremble, his face reddened and then he burst into uncontrollable fits of tears. As my mother tried to console him she asked why he was so upset. His reply? ''I must have been very naughty this year... All Santa Claus brought me was a bar of chocolate and a plastic tool set.''

Regardless of your religious or personal beliefs, Christmas is a time for children. So please, when you're out shopping this Black Friday, take a moment to help make sure no child is without a toy this year by donating to a Toys For Tots collection. Take part in the Geeks For Tots campaign and you yourself could be in for a treat, too, although perhaps the most precious reward is the one you'll never see: the look on a child's face when he or she opens the toy you gave to them...