Prince of Peace toy drive brings in huge haul for local children

Police officers from five local police departments — Franklin, Hamburg, Hardyston, Ogdensburg and Vernon — converged on the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Hamburg to be “substitute Santas.”

The church’s toy drive ended on Dec. 8 with more than 1,000 toys collected throughout November. The “sub Santa” officers were armed with a list from area schools, and, of course, they checked it twice. The officers transported the gifts, making sure they would get to local families in need.

The officers had a great time trying to figure out what each age group would like for Christmas.

The drive netted an extraordinary haul of gifts, not only from church parishioners but from other donors as well. One donor referred to the devastation of 2021 and said we definitely need to brighten everyone’s day.

An Andover family launched their own in-family challenge and donated all of the items they collected to the church.

A Hamburg woman donated her late father’s Hess truck and vintage model car collection. She said her dad would have been so happy at the prospect of them bringing joy at Christmastime.

“We are so grateful for the community support and outreach,” said the church pastor, Stephen Vogt.

Toy drive organizer Bob Winter was surprised at the wonderful outcome.

“Because of the rough times we all experienced over the last few months, we are humbled by the outpouring of generosity,” Winter said.

Local small businesses that hosted toy donation boxes included McAfee Hardware, Lox of Bagels, Vernon Copy Center, Gross and Jansen Realtors, Chappy’s Café, Harry’s Convenience Store, Tony’s Pizza and Pasta, Valley Paint, and American Deli and Grill.