ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—Calling all Santa’s helpers! The Englewood Toy Drive is set to begin on Nov. 25, and it will bring toys and joy to hundreds of Englewood children in need.
The toy drive is an annual event, courtesy of Englewood Fire Fighters Local 3260 and Englewood Police PBA Local 216. The Toy Drive provides less fortunate families with toys for children from 3 to 15 years of age. The joy of the season for these youngsters is the result of the kindness and generosity of donors.
The Englewood Chamber of Commerce (ECC) supports and publicizes the annual Toy Drive along with the event sponsors—the Englewood Field Club, Englewood SID, Modiani Kitchens, Lakeland Bank, Jaguar–Land Rover Englewood and BMW Tenafly.
Carol Rauscher, ECC President, also arranges for Englewood businesses and stores to serve as drop-off locations.
Englewood families that are eligible to receive toys are selected based on need, and that number increases every year. The Toy Drive started small 15 years ago, and it has grown into a major event. Five years ago, it became a joint effort of the police and fire departments, and they now share the collective haul of toys with 49 other towns in Bergen County.
The first meeting of the Toy Drive organizers took place on Nov. 11 at Club Pilates in Englewood, where manager Tania Torres welcomed a group of participating police and firemen along with Rauscher.
Following the orientation meeting, between Nov. 25 and Dec. 16, unwrapped toys and gift certificates will be collected at multiple locations throughout Bergen County.
On Dec. 18, all the toys that have been collected from the various towns will be brought to the Closter Volunteer Fire Department, which serves as a headquarters for toy storage from similar efforts from police departments throughout Bergen County.
By the second week in December, the firehouse will be overflowing with Christmas presents—everything from superhero action figures, giant stuffed animals, dolls, games, cars and trucks, Disney books, art supplies, gift certificates, trucks, electronics and more. Last year, one lucky pre-teen girl even received a bright purple full size bicycle.
At the firehouse, the mountain of toys will be sorted by age appropriateness, then put into in shopping bags and distributed to the participating towns. Each town will receive enough toys for its families that have registered for the giveaway. Registering is made easy through an online site.
In Englewood, the grand finale of the Toy Drive will take place on Dec. 19, as members of the police and fire departments distribute more than 500 toys to close to 400 families at the Englewood Field Club during a festive Christmas party, complete with a visit from Santa and holiday refreshments.
The Englewood Toy Drive is spearheaded by Lt. Matthew de la Rosa and Lt. Tom Greeley. They both have been volunteering for the Toy Drive since it began.
Lt. de la Rosa said, “It’s a pure opportunity to give back to the community. Knowing that children will have presents on Christmas Day is a wonderful feeling.”
Lt. Greeley expects this year’s Toy Drive to be bigger and better than ever.
“We have been working throughout the community using social media and getting assistance from Andre Hampton in the school district to identify families in need, so we have been able to target many of them well in advance of the registration,” he said. “I love seeing the faces of the children and parents when we hand them their bags of gifts. They are amazed and overwhelmed. Families that have received Toy Drive donations in past years have told us that we made their year. We really exceed expectations!”
You can help by donating new unwrapped toys or gift certificate. Drop off locations are:
• Englewood Police Department: 75 South Van Brunt St.
• Englewood Fire Department: 81 South Van Brunt St.
• The Gym: 20 Nordhoff Place.
• Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza: 10 Sterling Road.
• Evergreen Fine Fresh Food: 23 East Palisade Ave.
• Blue Moon Mexican Cafe: 23 East Palisade Ave.
• Englewood City Hall: 2-10 North Van Brunt St.
• bergenPAC: 30 North Van Brunt St.
• CNR Beverage: 91 West Palisade Ave.
• Modiani: 46 South Dean St.
For more information visit www.englewoodnj.org or call (201) 567-2381.