Reprint from the Progress Times - December 28, 2007
©Progress Times 2007 - All Rights Reserved

Kops for Kids a success

 

The arrival of Santa in a Mission Police Department SUV officially kicked off the 13th Annual Kops for Kids toy drive this year on Friday, December 21, in front of the Mission Police Department building.

The annual event, put on by the Mission Police Department, local merchants, Winter Texan RV parks and local aid organi­zations aims to make Christmas a little more merry every year for needy families.

The Police Department spent three weeks immediately after Thanksgiving registering chil­dren and families for the event which takes months to plan. Over 1,200 kids were in atten­dance.

"This is all about coming together as a community and providing for a needy family," said Lieutenant Martin Garza. "This is a very family oriented event. Chief Longoria has really shown us what family is all about and being able to see a smile on a child’s face when he receives a gift helps us enjoy this more than the kids do."

The event featured bicycles for boys and girls as well as tri­cy­cles for younger children, tur­keys for hungry families as well as cookies and juice and, of course, a moment or two of Santa’s time.

"The unique thing about this is that we try to be personal with the children and we try to get them what they wish Santa would get them," said Mission Police Chief Leo Longoria. "We worked on this about nine months to prepare. We hope that all of the children and the adults that come take away something from this experience of caring and compassion. When these children grow up to be young adults they can share that expe­rience and be compassionate to the people they are around."