Cops and Kids delivers Christmas cheer

ByMatthew Crane Reading Time: 3 minutes
Students in Tri-Cap’s Head Start Program lit up as Santa Claus came around the corner of the Tri-Cap building leading a parade of police vehicles.

Monday morning, Officers from multiple departments lined Third Avenue with sirens wailing in a parade delivering Christmas cheer to children taking part in the Head Start program through TRI-CAP.

Rather than officers and their family members working their way through Walmart with their special partners this year, Cops and Kids had to be brought to the children in a new way.

After the personal parade made a quick circuit of the TRI-CAP building, officers unloaded bags filled with gifts they and their family members had purchased for the children. Each bag also contained a new winter jacket from Koatz4Kidz.

According to event coordinator Sgt. Adam Bower, the officers and their families missed being able to make a connection with the kids during the event. “It’s still humbling to be able to do this,” he added. “We missed the fun but we did the best we could and I hope they enjoy what we were able to do. Hopefully, things will be back to normal for next year.”

The event is hosted through the Fraternal Order of Police and is made possible through donations. Home Depot, the Habig Foundation, several endowments through the Community Foundation, and donors throughout the community supported the event this year. Officers received $150 to spend on each child taking part in the program; 36 in all. Numbers in Head Start are down due to constraints put in place for Covid-19.

Santa Claus (Bob Brown) led the police parade around the Tri-Cap building Monday morning as law enforcement officers from across the county delivered presents to the children in the Head Start program.
Jasper Officer Josh Greener waved at children as he passed by in the parade put on for the annual Cops and Kids event.
Officer delivered bags of presents and clothing for each child in the Head Start program at Tri-Cap. Along with the items purchased by the officers and their families, each child received a new winter coat through Koatz4Kidz.
A parade of police cars traveled down Third Avenue to meet the children.
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