Local First Responders Help Kids Have Something Special To Open On Christmas Day
Oskaloosa Police Officers were among the first responders who helped make Christmas a little bit brighter for some area kids.
December 12, 2022
Oskaloosa, Iowa – One might have thought there was a major incident at the local Wal-Mart store on Friday evening. It will undoubtedly be a significant event on Christmas Day for some kids.
First responders do fundraisers all year-long to help raise money for this project. The money from their annual calendars and fundraisers, such as the bake sale from Mahaska Drug, help provide funds that are used to provide gifts for kids.
Approximately $80 is spent on each child for which a paper mitten has been placed on the tree.
One hundred forty-four kids’ names were submitted to the giving trees that were spread out around the community in places like Mahaska Drug, Fareway, and others.
Community members would take an ornament from the tree and purchase the items listed on it. They would turn that in, and the group of first responders then help organize and store those presents until distribution.
What ornaments are left over, local first responders then gather them up and buy for the kids to help them have a little brighter holiday season.
So the first responders and their significant others spread out across the store to begin shopping for fifty kids. “Buying for fifty kids all at once takes a little bit of time,” said Oskaloosa Police Sargent Justin DeKleine, who says that they usually spend between four and eight thousand dollars each year on the program.
The various local first responder charities raise those dollars over the year. Advertising dollars raised by the annual calendar are an example of how money is raised for the program.
Mahaska County CERT Captain Jim Walker and members of the CERT Team also participated in shopping and donated funds to the program.
“This is our fourth year, and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” said Walker.
On a social media post, the Oskaloosa Police Department said, “We are so very appreciative of the generosity that this community continues to show, year by year. Thank you for your assistance in making this program such an effective outreach program!”
Area first responders, including those from the Oskaloosa Police Department, Mahaska County 911, Mahaska County CERT, and Mahaska County Sheriff’s Reserve, all took part in shopping for the area youth.
