Monroe Township PBA 255 Brings Summer Holiday Cheer Through Toy Drive Supporting The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
(Monroe Township) - Nicholas LaFata was just 3 ½ in 1997 when he was diagnosed with Mature B-Cell Leukemia and Burkitt’s Lymphoma. He spent several weeks on Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s (RWJUH) Pediatric Unit before returning weekly as an outpatient, achieving remission five months later.
Since he was so young, LaFata doesn’t remember many details about this time in the hospital, but he does recall the joy that he and other children would experience when staff rolled televisions and game consoles into their rooms to provide much-welcome entertainment for the day.
It was this experience, as well as LaFata’s drive to give back to others in the community, that inspired him and fellow Monroe Township Police Benevolent Association (PBA) Local 255 members to launch a Christmas in July Toy Drive to support patients and families at The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital (BMSCH) at RWJUH, an RWJBarnabas Health facility. Donate toys or make a financial contribution to support the drive.
“Each year, Monroe Police have organized a holiday toy drive for BMSCH,” LaFata, now 30, says. “As a kid, I remember going to the holiday parties there. I started thinking, what happens during the rest of the year?”
As a result, LaFata had the idea to bring holiday cheer to the summer months for children and families at BMSCH.
“It’s easy for the PBA with our contacts to reach out to the masses and still help throughout the year,” he says.
While BMSCH’s team of child life specialists, nurses and physicians work tirelessly to maintain a warm, child-friendly environment year-round, donations are always needed to support the thousands of children and families whose lives they touch each year.
“We admit thousands of children for treatment each year so there is always a need for entertainment, toys and programs to reduce their anxiety and make their hospital stay a pleasant one,” says Barbara Romito, MA, Director of Child Life for BMSCH. “Some of the toys are used to restock our playrooms and some are given to those children who are unable to leave their patient rooms. We rely on generous donations from organizations like Monroe PBA Local 255 to ensure that we have plenty of toys and games on hand for our children to play with during their hospital stay, not only during the holiday season, but all year long.”
LaFata always had a desire to give back and serve his community. It’s the reason why he became a police officer in Monroe – the town in which he grew up – and the reason he serves as a L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs) officer for Monroe Township Schools. In the weeks ahead, Monroe PBA Local 255 will promote the drive on social media and in the community by distributing flyers and sharing information at events, such as their first-ever Coffee-with-a-Cop at the WAWA in Monroe on July 16.
He notes that this drive is also meant to support the family members of BMSCH patients, not just the patients themselves.
“This is just as much for the families and siblings of patients,” LaFata explains. “It’s not easy for them. They are spending a lot of time at the hospital too like my sister had to and they need something to do.”
For LaFata, it’s also about letting kids feel like kids despite what they are going through.
“We just want to give the kids something to look forward to,” LaFata says. “It can be an escape from their reality for a moment so they can experience what should be an ordinary day for a child again.”
About The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Hospital (BMSCH) at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is part of the Children’s Health Network of RWJBH and the hub of NJ’s only academic pediatric medical campus alongside Rutgers Child Health Institute and the PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital.
A dedicated pediatric teaching facility, BMSCH offers the highest levels of pediatric care available in a family-centered healing environment. From pediatric surgery, urology, and cardiology to oncology, hematology, pulmonology, and pediatric/emergency care, BMSCH’s specialists and intensivists provide advanced care for children of all ages – from fragile newborns to adolescents. BMSCH ranked #34 in orthopedics and #47 in urology by U.S. News & World Report 2023-2024 Best Children’s Hospital ranking. BMSCH is also home to New Jersey’s first designated pediatric trauma center and an internationally recognized adolescent bariatric surgery center of excellence.
Contact: Peter Haigney
RWJUH Public Relations
(732) 937-8568