Matt Denton

Annual toy run spreads holiday cheer to patients

LONG BRANCH — Motorcycle riders from around the region recently participated in a toy drop as part of the Annual Toy Run that delivered funds, toys and other gifts to brighten the holidays for patients at The Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center.

Blue Knights, New Jersey Chapter XV, accompanied by Santa and the Long Branch Police and Fire Departments, traveled from Atlantic Highlands Marina to Long Branch and delivered hundreds of gifts to the hospital for distribution to pediatric patients during the holiday season.

The group met in the lobby of Monmouth Medical Center for live music and hot chocolate. Justin Harm, the father of two pediatric cystic fibrosis patients, spoke about the impact of the cystic fibrosis program on his family over the past 12 years and thanked the group for brightening the holidays for kids living with cystic fibrosis this season.

Christian Peter from the Tigger House Foundation was also on hand to present the Blue Knights with a $500 donation in support of the Toy Run.

Funds donated by the Blue Knights benefited The Comprehensive Cystic Fibrosis Center at The Unterberg Children’s Hospital, which is the oldest and largest center in New Jersey. At the Center, a multidisciplinary team of trained-research clinicians provide patient care while offering clinical trials of the newest therapies for cystic fibrosis.