They dressed in blue and drove vehicles with lights and sirens, but their mission was the same as the man in red who pilots the sleigh with Rudolph and bells.
Salem Police officers began delivering toys to 259 families and 669 children on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
“This is one of the better parts of the job,” Senior Officer Sanford Groat said. “It’s nice to be able to give something back to the community, and they get to see a different side of the police force than a lot of these kids are used to.”
The department’s 30th annual toy drive was so successful it will take officers, partnered with cadets playing the role of Santa’s elves, two days to make the rounds.
A record number of families and children are being served, according to organizers. The only time more families were served was 10 years ago when Salem Police teamed up with Salem Fire for the toy drive.
This year’s haul netted each child multiple toys and a stuffed animal.
The goal every year is to help make the holidays brighter for children who might not be as fortunate as others. And the best part of each delivery, officer Shane Sevigny said, is seeing the look on a child’s face when they arrive.
“Just to see how they react to the gifts coming, it’s just joyous,” Sevigny said.
Sevigny and most of the other Santa proxies serve as school resource officers for Salem Police. Each of them left the toy staging area, in a church gymnasium, armed with a list of addresses and several large bags filled with wrapped gifts.
Salem Police partnered with Communities and Partners of East Salem (CaPES), which helped identify families and children in need.
Local businesses and organizations served as drop-off locations, challenging employees and members to give. Salem Health Medical Group was one of the biggest champions, donating more than 1,000 toys, five times what it did last year.
Other participants included Cycle Country, Dow Pediatric Dentistry, Salem Electric, and White Oak Construction.
CaPES organized teams of volunteers to wrap the toys, with schools, churches, and other nonprofits sending crews to lend a hand. By the time they were done, 1,905 wrapped gifts were ready to be delivered.
Organizers and volunteers agreed the toy drive had a record year in part because the Statesman Journal published a story about the genesis of the toy drive and the reunion between an officer and a young woman who inspired it all.
“I really do think that article inspired the community,” said Julie Gregory, a volunteer for one of the partners with CaPES. “This is my fourth year, and I’ve never seen this amount of toys. I can’t point to any factor that was different other than that.”
clynn@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6710, or follow on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnFB.