Emergi-Clean exec gets help from
Locals to bear down for kids
When a nightmare would cause Scott Vogel’s 4-year-old
daughter, Briana, to wake up in the middle of the night, she
would come into his room. Vogel would promptly find one of
Briana’s stuffed animals to comfort her while she fell back to
sleep.
After one of these nights, Vogel heard Bill Spadea on 101.5
FM the next morning. The noted law enforcement supporter
was talking about cops, as he does often.
Vogel suddenly put two and two together and came up with
an idea to call on PBA members to get caught up in his holiday
spirit. Vogel, CEO of Emergi-Clean Inc. in Rahway and a Cer-
tified Emergency Operations Professional who comes from a
family of first responders, started a campaign to collect stuffed
animals.
Turning the training room at the Emergi-Clean offices into
a Santa’s workshop, the company collected nearly 250 stuffed
animals on Dec. 18. Residents donated a bear and got to take a
picture with Santa. Then, he called on Build-A-Bear Workshop
at the Menlo Park Mall to further the effort.
“Whatever we collected, I wanted to match that,” Vogel said.
“Build-A-Bear told me that if I bought 200 bears, they would
donate 25.”
But he needed some help to build the bears. He called the
Linden Police Department, which sent members of Local 42
to share some of the labor. Then, Vogel hooked up with the
Woodbridge PD, which sent Local 38 members to help. When
the building started, a member of Edison Township Local 75
saw what was happening and pitched in.
On Jan. 10, Vogel delivered more than 450 bears and stuffed
animals to the NJ State PBA office in Woodbridge. Throughout
2019, they will be distributed to Locals to give to kids who have
been through traumatic events.
“Officers will be able to give them to kids when they need a
little comfort,” Vogel said. “Just like when my daughter had a
nightmare.”
Emergi-Clean Inc.
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■ JANUARY 2019 61