East Orange holiday party and toy drive celebrated

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

EAST ORANGE, NJ — The East Orange City Council, along with Mayor Ted Green and his administration, hosted its 14th annual holiday party and toy drive at Tribe Lounge on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

While everyone danced, mingled and ate, the number of donated toys quickly outgrew the table space and were soon being piled in the surrounding area.

Mayor Green and his wife were ready to enjoy the evening as they greeted attendees along with administration officials. Green noted that, despite the festivities, the focal point of the night was the collection of toys and clothes for the community.

“This is our annual Christmas party and toy drive,” Green told the Record-Transcript at the event on Wednesday, Dec. 11. “We’ve been doing this now for over 14 years, since I started on the council. This event is an opportunity for us to collect toys and clothes. So, we do our citywide caravan around the city. We have identified 70 families that we’ll be giving toys and clothes to on Dec. 20.”

With 10 city vehicles filled with toys to be hand-delivered to homes, Green and the council are working to obtain toys throughout next week, in addition to those collected at the event.

“We had nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, the Police Department, the Fire Department; everyone in the community came out today and wanted to contribute to the cause,” said the mayor. “For sponsors, we have the Ted R. Green Foundation, we have the Police Benevolent Association and Fraternal Order of Police. They’ve all came out and contributed.”

“I always feel great,” Green said. “When people come together to help other people and they come out in droves, it’s always a good thing, so I’m extremely honored and happy that people think of our community in this fashion.”

Marcus Jeter, who owns the Tribe Lounge, said he was happy to see the city in attendance at the event.

“Tonight’s holiday party and toy drive is a beautiful event,” Jeter said to the Record-Transcript during the event on Wednesday, Dec. 11. “I’m happy the city is here and I’m thankful for everything they do for me. We have a lot of toys tonight. We have about 150 toys tonight, which is more than what it was last year. Every year, it gets better.”

At the holiday party, guests enjoyed a variety of tasty dishes, such as pasta, chicken, egg rolls and much more, while indulging in delectable beverages at the bar.

Tony Jackson, the mayor’s chief of staff, was also in attendance and said he was glad so many people donated to the toy drive.

“This is a great event,” Jackson said to the Record-Transcript during the event on Wednesday, Dec. 11, “especially when people volunteered to bring toys to the folks who can use it within the city for the holidays. As you can see, we have a lot of toys here tonight, so I’d just like to thank all the city employees who donated. I donated myself, as well. We do this every year and we will continue to do this as long as we can help people in our community.”

“Comparing this year’s event and last years event, it might be about the same,” he added. “But I think that we’ve gotten a larger number of toys this year.”

Sutton Muhammad, who works in property maintenance in East Orange, attended the event and said it was all about the children.

“I’m incredibly ecstatic about tonight’s event,” Muhammad told the Record-Transcript at the event. “This event is all about the kids, because we’ve collected toys for them. It’s all about the kids, because that’s how most adults live now: for the children. So we’re here for them. I’m hoping they get at least 200 of our toys out today. It’s still early. We’re hoping more people come out and bring more toys for the kids.”

As the evening progressed, more people made their way to the holiday party, including 2nd Ward Councilman Christopher Awe, who said it’s important to donate, in any way, during the holiday season.

“We’re here to support our mayor and donate some time, some toys and some love to our mayor’s toy drive that we have for the holidays,” Awe said. “This is a beautiful thing. This is how we come out in unison during the holidays. Here in East Orange, we’re like one big, happy family. And so this is essentially a family coming together to support other needy members in our family. It’s a beautiful thing. This is the mayor’s initiative. This is the second year we’ve done this.

“Different community groups, civic groups and organizations throughout the community and all over the city donate, as well as City Council. We collaborate with the mayor, so this is definitely a team effort on everyone’s part.”

Sponsors included the East Orange Housing Authority, the East Orange School District, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Eta Pi Chapter, the East Orange Police Department, the East Orange Fire Department and the East Orange General Hospital.

“This is in support of our big, toy caravan that we do,” Awe added. “We’re going to do one closer to the holidays, which is always a joyous occasion. We love that, just to be able to give back to families in need and to see a smile on the kid’s faces. That’s usually one of the highlights of the year for all of us of the city administration, the City Council and all the other electives, so this is a good ramp up to it.”

Photos by EmilyAnn Jackman.