MARLBORO — Early on the morning of Dec. 21, Santa dropped in at the Bella Vista Country Club in Marlboro and filled his sleigh with more than 1,000 toys.
The toys were distributed to children who are living in shelters and to children who were spending their holiday in a hospital.
The toys were delivered to 180 Turning LivesAround in Hazlet, Linkages in Tinton Falls, the Collier Home for Girls in Red Bank, the Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick, and the Boys and Girls Club of America, among others, according to a press release.
The toys were donated by hundreds of individuals who learned about the 1,000 Toy March through an initiative that began in late November by the Kiwanis clubs of Asbury Park, Freehold, Holmdel, and Manalapan and Marlboro, in cooperation with the owners of the Bella Vista Country Club.
According to a Kiwanis spokesman, the last phone call for help came in on the Marlboro Kiwanis line late one night after an article about the toy drive was published in newspapers and posted on the Internet.
The caller, who lives inAsbury Park, explained that she had been out of work for some time and her unemployment checks had run out. The woman read the newspaper article and, since she had no money, she was hoping she could receive a toy for each of her two young sons.
The woman was asked if she had the means to get to the Bella Vista Country Club the next morning. Upon her arrival, the woman was given enough toys to make her two children very happy on Christmas morning, according to the press release.
The Kiwanis clubs are independent service clubs under the Kiwanis International banner. The clubs consist of people who wish to serve the children, families and seniors of the world and within their communities who are in need of any kind of help.
The Kiwanis clubs continually raise funds to help children and families in need within their specific towns and often join together to collectively raise awareness and help families in need, as they did for the 1,000 Toy March.
For more information about membership in Kiwanis, call 908-670-8995.