The 27th annual Motorcycle Toy Run will take place this Sunday, Nov. 8 – and organizers really mean it this time. Originally set for Oct. 4, the event was met with inclement weather not once but twice.
This Sunday at 10:30 a.m. registration starts, in the parking lot of the 9/10 building of Southern Regional High School on Route 9 in Manahawkin. The cost to ride is $10 per rider and a new unwrapped gift for a child of any age. Kickstands up at 12:30. Find all the details at toyrunfoundation.org.
The bikes will form a long chain of motorcycles for a cool, peaceful ride of at least 65 miles through the Pines to collect toys for kids in need at Christmastime.
The run is escorted by police motorcycles and patrol cars, plus the guests of honor, Santa and Mrs. Claus, joined by the Grinch, according to the event’s founder and organizer, retired Ocean Township Police Sgt. First Class Dennis Jarin. The party at the end is at St. Mary’s Parish Center, where lunch feeds and refreshes all participants.
Donations tend to skew toward boy-gendered toys, so the money raised from registration fees is used to purchase items to fill the gaps.
Spectators along the route greet the run like a parade to welcome the holiday season with lights, sirens and the engines’ roar.
Signups for families in need start the week of Thanksgiving, and the giveaway day is in mid-December.
According to Jarin, bringing joy to a child is at the heart of the mission, which has now impacted generations of area residents.
