Police from eastern Allegheny Co. suburbs join forces to distribute toys

Local police departments are joining forces with Toys for Pittsburgh Tikes for a toy giveaway on Sunday.

Police officers from Swissvale, Edgewood, Forest Hills, Wilkins Township, Churchill, Wilkinsburg, Braddock Hills and Rankin are teaming up with the local nonprofit to provide toys for families in need this holiday season.

The Swissvale Police Department hosts a toy giveaway around Christmas every year, Officer Debra Indovina said. But this year — as covid-19 and the resulting restrictions and economic downturn leave many families struggling — they wanted to expand the program.

“Due to the situation this year and how many people are in need of Christmas toys, we wanted to make it broader, so we called a lot of neighboring departments,” Indovina said.

Every police department involved will bring their own toy donations and send at least one officer to help hand out the gifts. Indovina said she’s participated in past years, but this year’s event will be extra special.

“I think this year, it’s really important for us, just because we know what a hard time everybody’s having,” Indovina said. “We’ve seen a lot of it personally. We answer calls and we see things a lot of other people don’t see. We just want to give back.”

The giveaway will be contactless and interactions will be limited. Officers will be wearing masks while handing out toys.

Despite the restrictions, Indovina said she’s excited to share the holiday spirit with the children, just like in past years.

“I look forward to not only helping the family, but also the kids,” she said. “I enjoy seeing the kids and how excited they get.”

Toys will be distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis and no one will be turned away unless supplies run out, Indovina said.

The toy giveaway will be held at Edgewood Towne Center on Sunday from 11 a.m. till 1 p.m. Participants should arrive in their vehicles and proceed to the rear of Edgewood Towne Center near the Scene 75 indoor entertainment complex.