What happens to the half-empty candy bowl on Nov. 1? In Point Pleasant Borough there's an answer with a date and a place. On Saturday, Nov. 7, Holiday Express will have a table at Community Park, taking leftover Halloween candy and packing it into bags for local kids. It's one of 34 stations at this year's Pointsgiving, the giving day the Kiwanis Club of Point Pleasant holds on the first Saturday of November.
That timing lines up with the rest of the season. The haunted trail, the giving day and the tree lighting all happen on the same lawn off Bridge Avenue. Plenty of what Halloween leaves around the house, like extra candy, outgrown coats and the bag of cat food bought for a pet that won't eat it, already has a station waiting for it a week later.
Tonight, the Park Is Still Haunted
This post goes up on Thursday, Oct. 22, which is Haunts in the Park night. The Borough's fall recreation guide splits the evening in two. A "not so scary" walk runs from 5 to 6 p.m. and costs $3 for anyone over 5. From 6:30 to 9 p.m. the core of Community Park turns into a haunted trail, $6 for everyone who goes in, and the last ticket sells at 8:30. The guide says the later trail is not recommended for small children. For younger kids there's a DJ playing Halloween music.
Some practical details from the Borough's 2026 fall program guide:
- Pre-event tickets are sold weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. through Oct. 22 at the Recreation Center, 1001 River Avenue.
- Payment is cash or check only, and there are no refunds.
- The rain date is Friday, Oct. 23.
The Borough's online event listing shows a 5:30 p.m. start, while the printed guide and the Ocean County Tourism flyer both list 5 p.m. for the gentler walk. If you're heading over at the early end, check the Borough's event page first.
Haunts isn't new. A Borough post from 2017 already described a walk through a haunted trail. Earlier this week, on Oct. 20, the Point Pleasant Borough Police Department's Community Watch held its Trunk or Treat at the same park. It asked for candy donations at Police Headquarters, 2233 Bridge Avenue. Pointsgiving is the one day on this fall's calendar set up to pass leftover candy along.
A Week After Halloween, the Same Lawn Only Takes What's Asked For
Pointsgiving runs from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7. If it rains, the event moves to the Point Pleasant Beach High School gym, and the Kiwanis Club says it will post any change on its page. You don't need to register. You can walk in, try a hands-on service project, meet the local nonprofits, or drop off donations.
The club can't accept unsolicited items, so donations have to be things one of the participating organizations has asked for. Each station posts its own list of requests ahead of time.
If you don't want to park and walk the stations, there's a drive-thru drop-off at the park gate at Susan Lane and Beach Boulevard. Volunteers take your donations there. In 2025, NJ101.5 reported that volunteers with wagons carried drive-up donations to the stations in the park.
Sorting the House, Station by Station
Here's the 2026 Pointsgiving program, grouped by what you're likely to find around the house in the first week of November.
Leftover Halloween candy
- Holiday Express takes leftover candy, and you can help stuff kids' bags at the table.
Coats, clothes and linens
- The Calvary Academy Key Club is collecting new and used coats and winterwear for adults and kids, to be handed out in Lakewood next month. It's also gathering items for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.
- The Choose Love Celebrate Life (CLCL) Foundation is asking for clothing, linens, shoes, accessories, cleaning and hygiene supplies, baby and kid items, school supplies and holiday gifts.
- Kiwanis is running a kids' clothing swap for sizes newborn to 14, plus a clothing drive that accepts bagged clothing, linens and stuffed animals.
- G's Giving Gowns needs new children's T-shirts in sizes 2T to 16, which will be custom-sewn for pediatric hospital patients.
Pet supplies
- The Point Pleasant Boro High School Key Club is collecting dog collars, cat and dog food, and treats for the Humane Society in Tinton Falls.
- K's Kitten Rescue is asking for canned cat food, especially kitten food.
- Point Paws wants cat food, treats, puppy pads and cat toys. All Fur One wants dog and cat food, dog treats and cat litter.
- Marty's Place Senior Dog Sanctuary and Horse Rescue United are there too. Horse Rescue United is selling horseshoes and apparel, with proceeds going to the horses.
Pantry, paper goods and household supplies
- Providence House is asking for paper goods, individually packaged snacks, juice boxes and small Wawa gift cards. Mercy Center needs hygiene, baby-care and household-cleaning supplies.
- Point Borough High School's Class of 2028 is collecting nonperishable food for the school foodbank. A Need We Feed is asking for snack-sized foods.
School supplies, games and comfort items
- The Kiwanis Teacher's Closet takes school supplies and toiletries for Point Boro and Beach schools.
- K-Kids of Greater Point Pleasant is collecting new board games for a CLCL Foundation family fun night. It's also gathering lip balm, lotion, large-print books and comfort items for residents at Crest Pointe Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center.
There's also a hot cocoa stand that raises money for the Key Clubs. That's handy, since early November afternoons in the park can turn cold.
How a Giving Day Reached Its Fourth November
Pointsgiving is young. NJ101.5 called the 2024 event the second annual and its 2025 coverage called that year the third, so 2023 was the first. In that NJ101.5 piece, the Kiwanis chair said the idea was to make family volunteering easier by putting lots of ways to give back in one place.
The numbers show how fast it grew. According to NJ101.5's 2024 preview, the first event collected 6,000 books for BookSmiles, and the 2024 event had 33 stations. NJ101.5's 2025 preview listed 45 stations, including Fulfill Food Bank, Ocean's Harbor House and Soldier On. This year's program has 34 numbered stations. The roster changes from year to year, so a group you donated to last fall may not have a table this time. Check the current program before you load the car.
The Calendar From Haunts to the Tree Lighting
- Thursday, Oct. 22. Haunts in the Park at Community Park, Bridge Avenue. Rain date is Friday, Oct. 23.
- Saturday, Oct. 31. Halloween. Set aside the leftover candy for Holiday Express.
- Wednesday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m. The Point Pleasant Historical Society holds a free public meeting at the Borough Municipal Building, 2233 Bridge Avenue, with Britta Forsberg of Save Barnegat Bay speaking about the organization and the bay.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 1 to 4 p.m. Pointsgiving at Community Park, with drive-thru drop-off at Susan Lane and Beach Boulevard.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 4 to 8 p.m. Christmas Tree Lighting and Market in the Park, hosted by Mayor Sabosik, the Borough Council and the Chamber of Commerce. The guide lists local entertainment from 5 p.m., a DJ, children's amusements, horse and carriage rides, and craft and food vendors. Rain date is Dec. 6.
From Haunts to the tree lighting, that's a little over six weeks of events on one lawn.
If you're cleaning out closets this fall and running into things too heavy for a station table, like furniture, a whole house's worth of stuff before a move, or a home that's starting to feel too big, I'm happy to talk through the next step with you. You can reach Alissa Serratelli any time. Let's Connect.
