TOMS RIVER – Runners got their blood pumping, keeping themselves warm on a brisk winter day, all while raising money for the Toms River Police Department Foundation.
The Jingle Bells 5K run was held downtown and brought out hundreds of runners, and even more waiting on the sidelines.
Officially, there were 709 registered, police spokeswoman Jillian Messina told Toms River Times. However, on race day, people came out who didn’t register online but still wanted to participate, make a donation, and support the department.
Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill shared that there was a children’s Fun Run to Santa and a 1 mile Fun Run as well.
“Some of the Toms River Volunteer Fire Fighters ran the 1 mile Fun Run in full gear weighing between 40-60 lbs with the Scott Air Packs,” he said. “There was a great turn out after last year’s cancellation due to the pandemic. Another sign of our returning to normal.”
The fundraising was a great success and will be used for scholarships for local TEAM and Interact clubs, Messina said. There is also a Detective Mark Catalano Memorial Scholarship for High School students who are majoring in a Law Enforcement career. Additionally, funds went to A Need We Feed, a Toms River-based nonprofit which helps people put food on the table.
“We are truly fortunate to continue to have the community support! We definitely felt the love from our Toms River family and the holiday spirit,” she said. “We say this all the time, but it remains true, our Toms River community is simply amazing! The relationship between a community and the police department is about mutual respect and support for one another. This community shows up, not only for the police department, but for all community events. We may be almost 100,000 strong, but we still have that small-town heart!”
“This run has become our unofficial kick off to the holiday season and we were happy to be back this year,” Chief Mitch Little said. “Having the support of our community, and seeing everyone enjoying the day was awesome! It’s pretty incredible to see the way our TRPD family embraces our events and pours their heart into them. I am so proud to work alongside these extraordinary men and women whose dedication goes far beyond their call of duty,” said Officer PJ Gambardella, who served as Race Director. “We’d like to thank everyone who came out … We had a great day, with perfect running weather too! It was very rewarding to see everything our race committee had been working on come to life, and thankfully, go off without a hitch! To all of our sponsors, participants, and volunteers – Thank you for everything! We couldn’t do this without you!”
