They probably couldn't sell them, so were looking for a tax deduction on the gift.
No, I think it's worse than that. They were donated with every expectation that the Marines woukld reject them, specifically for the purpose of giving Christians another excuse to whine about how oppressed they are.
In other words, actual
poor children are little more than pawns to these people; not people with a need their commandments direct them to ameliorate, but simply an opportunity to get Christianist talking points on the evening news.