Fort Lee PBA to Start Collecting Toys For Sick Children, Those in Need

The Fort Lee Policemen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) Local #245 is once again asking for the public’s assistance as the organization begins its annual “Holiday Season Toy Drive.”

Each year, the PBA collects toys donated by residents and distributes them—dressed as Santa Clause and other characters like Winnie the Pooh, Elmo or Mickey Mouse—to children in pediatric units at area hospitals and to local children in need of a little holiday cheer through the Fort Lee Department of Human Services.

“We do it every year, and we appreciate the generosity from the public,” said PBA Local #245 president Kevin Kosuda.

Kosuda, a 19-year veteran of the , said he doesn’t know for sure how long the PBA has been doing the toy drive, but he said it’s been at least as long as he’s been a cop.

“It’s a real tradition,” Kosuda said.

Starting Dec. 5, the PBA will be picking up toys each day from the lobbies of some of Fort Lee’s high-rise buildings, including the Mediterranean Towers (North, South and West), Northbridge, the Colony and all six Horizon House buildings.

“They actually put up boxes or bins in each of the lobbies, and then the residents, at their leisure, come in and drop off unwrapped presents,” Kosuda said.

The PBA’s last pick up in town is Dec. 19, and although the precise date has yet to be determined, Kosuda said PBA members will be handing out toys at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center on or about Dec. 21.

Kosuda also said that in recent years the organization has been getting more toys than they need for the hospital visits, but that the surplus “definitely does not go to waste.”

“We used to get enough toys so that when we went to the hospitals, we had enough to cover us there,” he said. “But it’s just gotten bigger and bigger every year. We get so many toys that once we go to the hospitals, we have leftovers, and honestly, we’re not going to throw them away. One year, I remember counting about 50 of those large, black garbage bags.”

So this year the PBA decided to donate some of the extra toys to the U.S. Marine Corps “Toys for Tots” program through the Fort Lee VFW.

“Being a Marine myself … I thought it would be a great idea, if we have any leftovers that we don’t give out to the hospitals or through Fort Lee’s welfare office for needy kids in town, that we donate to them,” Kosuda said.

The rest of the extra toys will go to Shelter Our Sisters, a Bergen County nonprofit organization assisting women and children who are victims of domestic violence and abuse.

“Even if they don’t give them to the kids during the holidays, they’ll have them if a family comes in January; they’ll have toys there for kids to play with,” Kosuda said.

Fort Lee residents who want to donate toys to the cause but don’t live in any of the buildings with daily pickups can contact the Fort lee PBA at 201-592-3518 to arrange a special pickup, or they can drop their donation off at the Fort Lee police station on 16th St. near Inwood Terrace, care of Kevin Kosuda, who said he has no specific goal in mind this year—just to collect as many toys as possible.

“If I got a hundred toys or I got a thousand toys, I’d be happy with that,” Kosuda said. “At least I’d know that they’re going to children that can really use them. Especially in this day and age with the tough times with the economy, there are just some kids out there that can really use some extra toys.”

He added, “My guys love seeing the kids smile, and it’s really a good thing to do.”