The
Christmas Cops program was created in 1984 by a handful of
compassionate Officers who saw a tremendous need to assist some families
during the Holiday Season. Officers D. Burney, R. Burton, M. Allen, L. Beins-Cosper, C.
Norton, and T. Koons were the Officers who
initiated the program. Officer Burton was the Chairman of the program from
1984-1988 and Officer Burney chaired the program from 1988 to 2001. Since
that time, members of the Christmas Cops committee has provided guidance to
the growing program.
The Officers began to collect
toys, food, and other necessities that would be delivered to Plano families
in need during the Christmas Season by Plano Police employees. They placed collection
boxes in various local businesses asking those more fortunate to donate a
toy or canned food item to help others in need. Then, they collected these
items, sorted them to match the toy to the appropriate child, and delivered
the items to the families on Christmas Eve before they returned to their own
homes to enjoy Christmas with their families.
In 1984, the year of its
inception. Christmas Cops assisted fifteen
families with food, toys, and clothing. The number of families served and
the amounts of items delivered have continued to increase year after year.
These families received two or three months worth of food, several toys for
each child, and often coats to keep them warm during the winters. This
tradition has continued throughout the years, providing families with
staples of canned foods, flour, sugar, potatoes, and other healthy food
items to help them through the entire holiday season.
Initially,
Christmas Cops received the names of families
they helped from an outside assistance referral organization. The Officers
just wanted to help people in need, so they were given a list of families
who were requesting toys and food. However, during some of the first years,
Officers delivered boxes of toys and food to families who were being served
by other (and sometimes many other) charitable organizations and it was
evident that some families were not quite as "needy" as they represented
themselves. There was no system in place to ensure that all of the items
collected went to families who were actually in dire need.
Thus, the
Christmas Cops Officers wanted to be more
involved in the selection of families they were serving. They began seeking
referrals directly from Patrol Officers for names of families who were in
need and whom had come in contact with a Plano Police Officer under police
related circumstances. Since Officers are often in contact with people who
are victims of crimes or are struggling through particularly difficult
times, this allowed Officers to help make a positive difference with these
families and to increase the positive relationships with citizens and the
Plano Police Department.
Officers have submitted
families whom they have met during investigations of burglary, theft, family
disturbances, traffic stops, and other typical calls for service for which
Police Officers are called. Officers also refer families that they have just
met during their work days and know that these families could use some
assistance during this time.
The Officers enjoy being able
to make direct referrals to this program because they know that the items
collected by our program will go to families who are both in need and are
deserving of these gifts. Officers enjoy knowing that because of their
contact with a family, often under very distressing circumstances, they have
actually been able to brighten Christmas and the entire Holiday Season for
their families.
For years,
Christmas Cops has continued to help families
who were participating in the other assistance referral programs because
they were able to collect more than enough toys to help the families
referred by Officers, as well as additional families. But recently,
Christmas Cops has adopted an "Officer Referral
Only" policy due to the numbers of families referred to the program by Plano
Officers. Officers have realized that there are so many more local families
in need than previously recognized. These circumstances may come about due
to economic lows that lead to employment lay-offs and related hardships,
death or catastrophic illness in the family, automobile or work accident,
and other tragic circumstances that may cause an otherwise financially
healthy family to suffer tremendous hardship, which is especially difficult
during the Holiday Season.
In the early years,
Christmas Cops
used the old United National Bank building on West Parker Road as a
collection and distribution site. Then, in 1990, Officer Cindy Bennett's
parents offered the use of their barn for the program. The Bennett's Barn
became synonymous with
Christmas Cops to Plano Officers. We used the
Bennet's Barn as a collection and distribution site until the 2000 season
when the program simply outgrew the location. For the 2001 season, Mr. John
Roach Jr. graciously allowed Christmas Cops to
use his law office for our program.
Christmas Cops is
housed year round in a Plano business that has donated space, utilities,
equipment, and other support to our program. This generous donation has
allowed the program to grown and serve many families each year.
We are very grateful to the
Bennett's and to Mr. Roach for their generous support of our program, for
without their assistance, our program would not have been able to survive.
In 2007,
Christmas Cops was able to serve
x families
(all Officer referrals), including 650 children. Officers and their families
delivered thousands of boxes of food, toys, clothes, and blankets to these
families all over the city of Plano.
Since the early years, the
number of Officers and friends of Christmas Cops
has increased dramatically, as have the number of families served and
businesses who support our program. We hope to continue to help the
deserving families in Plano for many years to come.
