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CopsWhoCare.Org |
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kids followed the U-Haul vehicle as if were an ice cream truck. True there
was music, although not the typical light tinkle of the ice cream song. Instead,
this was hearty Christmas music being blared by boom boxes. The men inside
the truck were police officers, and they were selling nothing. But they were
giving away presents and candy, every so often pulling up to a house. Then
a cop dressed as Santa would jump out of the truck and deliver the surprise
gifts, all carefully wrapped and containing new toys.
"It was fun," says Roy Reyer, president and one of
the founders of Cops Who Care, the Wickenburg
Arizona, organization that's been giving away toys to children for 17 years.
He looks back fondly on that day in 1982. "The kids loved the candy,
the lights and Santa Claus. The parents were so shocked. It was two days before
Christmas."
Previously, the police officers had passed a hat among themselves
at Christmastime, "It was a tradition," says Roy, who retired in
1998 as a lieutenant in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. "Everyone
would throw in a buck or two, and we'd choose one family to help."
It got so that every year, the toughest part was figuring out
which families were the neediest.
"One year, in 1982, we just said, maybe we can do it bigger,"
Roy says. Police Officers of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, the Arizona
Department of Public Safety, the Wickenburg Police Department, and the Yavapai
County Sheriff's Office decided to do a few mailings, put up some posters,
and talk to some businesses. The money and the toys came pouring in, and they
soon had enough toys for 250 kids - a minimum of two for each child. "It's
fun when you go to "Toys "R" Us and fill about 10 shopping
carts," Roy laughs. "People look at you funny."
Social Workers, churches, welfare agencies, and community groups
provided the organization with a list of struggling households. They decorated
the U-Haul with Christmas lights, added boom boxes, and had one officer dress
as Santa Claus, and the group hit the road.
"After the response we got, we figured we've got something
good here," Roy says. "The community had jumped right on the bandwagon
and said we'll help you any way we can." That they did, and Cops
Who Care has expanded each year since.
It's grown to include an Easter egg hunt, a Fourth of July party with
leapfrog games and relay races, sponsorship of a T-Ball league and even, on
occasion, mini-scholarships to high schoolers who cannot afford school supplies.
Their Christmas project remains their largest, though, and last year they
helped over 950 children.
"We
don't give used toys, Roy says. "Most of the kids who get this stuff
always get hand me downs. Their cloths, their toys, Nothing they get is new.
For us to give them a new toy, that means something to them.
One of their biggest sponsors, a car club called Remember
When Cruise Association (RWCA), holds a car show in Wickenburg every
year. Participants have to bring a toy to be in the show. "Most bring
two or three," says Gene Remo, RWCA vice president. "A lot of people
collect from their businesses and come with a carload full, It just snowballs."
Cops Who Care couldn't do any of this without the 60 volunteers
who wrap the presents. "They have cookies and coffee and punch for us."
Says Doris Wilhelm, 69, a senior citizen who's been helping for over a decade.
"The more people we have come, the less time it takes. Even then, it
takes all afternoon. We all look forward to it, to helping someone else."
As the project has grown, the U-Haul trip has become a thing
of the past. Instead, Cops Who Care holds
a Christmas party about two weeks before Christmas, at the local community
center. The families and children they're helping that year are invited to
come and pick up their presents. Children have been so excited and touched
by the gifts that they cried.
"It's exhausting work, but when we're all done you can see
the smiles," Roy says. For cops, these smiles mean allot. "We're
always used to dealing with negative circumstances," says Roy. "The
job involves a lot of turmoil and stress. With this, you get a sense of accomplishment."
The good feeling lasts throughout the year, too. "People
see that Mr. Police Officer is a human being - that he cares about what is
going on in the community - and they get a little different perspective about
our jobs. Some end up wanting to do volunteer work with us."
Roy says their only concern at this time of the year is storing
the hundreds of gifts that come in. We keep them in a jail cell," Roy
says laughing. "It saves us on overhead, and the toys are safe - they're
locked up."