ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — The Central Baldwin Chapter of Business Network International is asking its members to give a little extra this holiday season.

Through the month of November, each of the group’s 11 members, which meet at 8:15 a.m. every Tuesday at the Baldwin County Realtors Association office in Robertsdale, are asked to bring a toy for Toys for Tots.

So far the group has collected more than 60 toys for the organization and plans to present its donation to a Toys for Tots representative at the group’s Dec. 6 meeting.

BNI was founded in 1985 by Dr. Ivan Misner in Arcadia, Calif., which is located about 20 miles east of Los Angeles, with its base of operations located in Upland, Calif., about 35 miles east of L.A.

At the end of 2010, the group boasted 133,971 members and claimed to have given 6.5 million referrals which generated $2.8 billion in business globally last year.

There are three chapters in Baldwin County, one in Fairhope, one in Gulf Shores and one in Robertsdale. The Robertsdale chapter has been operating for about six years.

“We are unique in that we allow only one professional in each business category,” said Debra J. Channell of Fabre Engineering & Surveying. “We provide and exclusive referral base for our members.”

Toys for Tots, designated as an official activity of the U.S. Marine Corps, was founded in 1947 by Maj. Bill Hendricks and a group of Marine reservists in Los Angeles.

In the beginning, according to the website toysfortots.org, Marines collected and distributed new and used toys. Used toys were refurbished by Reservists on drill weekends during October, November and December. Beginning in 1980, Marines began collecting and distributing only new toys and a non-profit organization, the Toys for Tots Foundation, was created in August 1991 and began coordinating efforts in Christmas that year.

In 1995, the Secretary of Defense approved Toys for Tots as an official activity of the U.S. Marine Corps and an official mission of the Marine Corps Reserve. In 1996, Toys for Tots was expanded to cover all 50 states by authorizing selected Marine Corps League Detachments and selected local community organizations (generally veteran Marine), located in communities without a Marine Reserve Center, to conduct toy collection and distribution campaigns in their communities as part of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program.

Over the 62 years of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Marines have distributed more than 400 million toys to more than 188 million needy children. Over its 18 year life span, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has supplemented local toy collections with more than 81.3 million toys valued at more than $487 million; plus has provided promotion and support materials valued at over $6.3 million.

At each meeting, every BNI member is allowed 60 seconds to give a presentation about their business. During November, that presentation includes an explanation of how the toy donation relates to their business.

Because only one member from each profession is allowed, members of the Central Baldwin Chapter come from all over Baldwin County, said Jason Will, a Fairhope Realtor who handles the group’s public relations.

“We have members from Fairhope, Stockton and all over Baldwin County,” he said.

According to the group’s website, bni.com, the organization was built on the philosophy of “Givers Gain®: By giving business to others, you will get business in return.” BNI members are taught to practice the VCP, Visability, Credability and Profitability.

The local BNI chapter is also developing a Facebook page, Wills said, which can be linked through https://www.facebook.com/pages/BNI-Central-Baldwin-Business-Connections/296011297075729.