SAN ANTONIO – The Blue Santa program is an effort by San Antonio Police Department to help local children across the San Antonio community, and the officers work hard to collect, pack and deliver presents to thousands of local families.
“I do it because I love it. I mean, I’m you see a lot of happiness and joy when you give somebody something and they’re like, you know, it’s the biggest thing in the world. And it’s, it’s a stuffed animal and it means a lot. It really does. So that’s why we do it,” San Antonio Police Officer Menell Orosco said.
Orosco has been helping the Blue Santa program for the last 15 years.
“You’re making their moment, maybe be a day that one day, that special day, they wake up and they receive these toys. It’s an emotional feeling and they enjoy it and it brings a lot of satisfaction,” Orozco said.
Other officers say they helped to pack bags for other reasons.
“We are here for our community. We protect and serve our community and to doing things like this. I strongly believe it strengthens our relationship with the community. It builds that trust and builds that confidence,” Officer Alonzio Hardin said.
The Blue Santa warehouse is presently filled with thousands of toys, with everything from Buzz Lightyear to kid bikes.
“Right now we’re over 5,000 kids (gifted). I just looked at the numbers yesterday. Well its over 5,000 kids and over 2,000 families. So another 500 or more to go,” Orozco said.
Once the bags are packed, the toys are sent to substations and then delivered to families.
“The officers between their shifts, they can deliver the toys,” Hardin said.
If you want to step up and help out, there is still time.
“Sometimes we do lack donations. We always welcome donations of any sort,” Orozco said.
If you want to help out, you can do so by clicking here.