PBA Toy Drive Joy: Filling Santa's Sleigh

In spite of a dark economy, the Middletown PBA is looking to light up some kids’ lives this holiday season by bringing them a little Christmas.

So, in cooperation with a few area charities, the PBA #124 is in the process of collecting toys for its annual drive, something that’s been a Middletown mainstay for more than 20 years, Cpl. Keith Macdonald, longtime drive organizer, said.

This is how it works: Police collect toys 24/7 at the , right in the hallway of . Once all the toys are collected by the end of next week, then they are funneled, by various means, to Middletown Helps Its Own and Jason’s Dreams for Kids.

“The PBA starts off (the drive) every year with a $1,500 contribution from its own treasury,” Macdonald said. “Both high schools’ booster clubs (and ) also contribute $200 each.”

With the money donated, township students go on a shopping spree for the cause with officers, serving as elfin-type toy advisors.

Those toys are loaded up into a police trailer and shipped to the collection point at the VFW Post 2179 in the Port Monmouth section.

“We take the helpers out for pizza,” Macdonald said. “It’s a good experience for them. They enjoy it and so do we.”

Any gift cards collected are handed over to Middletown Helps its Own and Jason’s Dreams, where they are, in turn, given to those deemed better suited for that particular type of gifting.

Once all the gifts are gathered, teachers, kids, cops and an assortment of community volunteers meet at the VFW on Dec. 16 for a day of playing Santa in stereo and packing up the goods for delivery.

This year, Macdonald said that according to Middletown Helps its Own President Don Scrivanic, 264 families are slated to benefit from food and toy baskets (or boxes).

“It could end up being more,” Macdonald added.

Though, having seen a drop in donations coinciding with the bad economy, he said he’s actually seen some who used to contribute switch roles and become among those in need.

The drive brings in an average of $5,000 worth of toys a year, Macdonald said. And with the shrinking influx and expanding need, there’s room for more.

Macdonald also noted that when donating, people should try to remember to include age-appropriate teen gifts. “People tend to forget that the older kids need gifts, too,” he said. “A baseball or basketball …. something like that is fine. You hear toy drive and automatically think toddlers and little children. Just keep them in mind.”

There’s still plenty of time to get donations to the dispatch desk at the police department. Just don't wrap them, Macdonald said. "We need to be able to see what we have to determine where it's going." Any time is fine for drop-off.

An officer is always there — working and waiting for yet another Santa Claus to come to Middletown.