Gift of giving
Truro police is teaming up with community organizations to help make the holiday season a little brighter for children.
Several children will have special memories of this holiday season, thanks to the Truro Police Service.
The service is hosting a Holiday Heroes event on Dec. 22 to provide some young people with a day filled with activities they wouldn’t otherwise experience, but most people take for granted.
“I wanted to do something with kids and Christmas for a while and when I brought this idea up it just took off,” said Const. Scott Milbury. “The support from the community has been great.”
Truro Police Service partnered with organizations such as the Christmas Index, Boys and Girls Club and Department of Community Services to select children who would benefit from the event. About 50 children will be invited to take part in the activities, which include breakfast, crafts, cookie and tree decorating, skating, touch-a-truck, a film and a visit from Santa.
“People keep coming up with ideas and it snowballs,” said Leeann Macdonald, a caseworker with community services, who is volunteering with the event.
“We see kids in situations where they don’t have positive relationships with police. We want to show kids that police are there for all kinds of reasons. It’s also a stressful time of year for anyone, and this is a chance to give something magical to some kids.”
Const. Edwin Reynolds said the best part of the day for him will be seeing the smiles on children’s faces.
The police service hopes Holiday Heroes will be an annual event, growing to allow more children to take part in the future.
“It’s a chance to give these kids one day in the holiday season that they won’t forget,” added Milbury. “If there was a way we could help every person who needs help we would do it.”