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They are
making a list and checking it twice to make sure that all the children
in Plano have a very merry Christmas. While the Christmas Cops aren’t
officially known as Santa’s helpers the work they do in the month of
December makes the holiday season much brighter for deserving families.
“It started back in 1984 when some officers realized that there were
families out there with children that wouldn’t be able to have a
Christmas,” said Capt. Harry Manning, who is in charge of the Christmas
Cops program for the Plano Police Department.
During their normal duties Plano Police Officers come encounter numerous
families that could use a helping hand during the holiday season.
Officers then refer these families to the Christmas Cops program.
“They fill out a referral sheet and verify that the need is there and we
also try to verify that they are not getting aid from somewhere else,”
Manning said. “We try to make sure that we are the only group helping
them.”
Last year the Plano Police Department was instrumental in providing
toys, coats and food to 185 families and a total of 650 children reached
by the program.
Imagine children who are more concerned about their next meal than their
next birthday or Christmas present. These are the kind of children that
the program helps the most, according to Sgt. Courtney Pero, who is also
involved in the program.
“The opportunity to make a ham sandwich is better than a bike to these
children,” Pero said. “There are 185 families out there that wouldn’t
have had Christmas or the same type of Christmas without this program.
This is a big opportunity to a make positive contact with the
community.”
It’s not just about finding food and toys for children in desperate
need. Sometimes it is about making Christmas special for the parents as
well. Sgt. Alicia Nors, who is also involved in coordinating the
program, recounted a year where one woman was given a used car after her
car had been shot up in the Richardson-Plano bank robbery and subsequent
car chase. The woman had been using the car to support herself, her
children, as well as children she was looking after.
“It was a situation where losing her car was the final straw,” Nors
said. “It was one of those things that could have sent her family into a
real downward spiral.”
Over the past 22 years the program has diversified its efforts into
three areas through which toys, food and certain needed items find their
way into the hands of the Christmas Cops. While their largest source of
donations come in the form of their numerous drop off sites, citizens
can also participate in the adopt-a-family program or by visiting one of
their Christmas Cops Angel Tree locations, as well as by making a
monetary donation.
“The success of the program is based on the foundation of the fact that
the community supports us. If the community did not support us then we
would have nothing to give, so community support is the main foundation
of it,” Manning said. “The other part of that are the police employees
who do the work and deliver the donations.”
This year the Christmas Cops especially need diapers, baby formula, teen
items for both boys and girls and bicycles. They are also asking for
gently used computers because they make such a big impact on the
families who receive them.
The Christmas Cops will be at the Christmas Tree in Legacy Town Center
from 4-7 p.m. this Thursday to participate in the Troy Dungan Toy Drive.
For information on drop off locations and a list of Christmas Cops Angel
Tree locations visit their Web-site at www.christmascops.com or contact
Capt. Manning at 972-941-2189 or Sgt. Nors at 972-633-6635.
To become a collection site contact Sgt. Pero at 972-942-2646.
-- Josh Hixson
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