Asbury Park Toy Drive Makes Christmas Brighter for Families in Need

An Asbury Park non-profit group is gathering up as many toys as they can to help kids in the city have a very merry Christmas. Here's how you can help.

Connie Breach came to Asbury Park years ago because she really wanted to work more the the community in a positive way.

She started the wonderful non-profit Asbury Park Toy Drive in a small way...helping a handful of families the first few years and assisting other Asbury Park groups.

As the demand has grown for families who needed help, this charity has been able to sponsor field trips and get back-to-school supplies for kids. But Christmastime is their passion. The non-profit has collected lots of friends, local business owners and managers, and many residents along the way who want to help the kids and become part of the toy drive.

Asbury Park Toy Drive is an organization that strictly serves Asbury Park families, and so many people have been helping this group because they get to actually see where their donations go and how they are helping the families in the same place that they live, work, and play. There is a special connection among community members that give, and those that receive.

There is still plenty of time for you to get a toy or donation over to this organization before Christmas. This year there are over 350 Asbury Park families in need!

CLICK HERE to follow info on where you can go, or how you can send/drop off a donation.

One upcoming event where you can donate toys to will be on Monday, Dec. 18th, when Johnny Mac's is hosting an ugly sweater contest and collecting toys for the organization.

So how are these wonderful Christmas toys distributed? Well...the elves start setting up around 6 am on Dec. 23rd at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park. The doors open at 9 am for the families who have pre-registered. The families on the list will be welcomed inside and then mom and dad and kids alike will get to choose items like coats, books, DVDs, DCs, McDonald's Happy Meal toys, very good used toys, and school supplies. Then the parents will pick up their bag of new, donated toys without the kids seeing what's inside, so that they can put them under the tree at home.

The kids will also get to take photos with Santa, and enjoy food, drinks and snacks from The Windmill Restaurant, Wegmans, PepsiCo, and Asbury Park Roastery. After this pre-celebration, they can go home and get ready for a very Merry Christmas!

Thank you so much, Connie, as well as Caroline O'Toole from The Stone Pony, for making Christmas so much brighter for Asbury Park families in need. And thanks to everyone in the community who is helping with donations as well!