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| Angel Tree spreads cheer |
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| News | |||
| Written by Kevin Gray | |||
| Wednesday, 24 December 2008 09:00 | |||
 Before Santa arrived from up north to help with Operation Angel Tree on Saturday morning, Miami County Sheriff’s Office vehicles and pickup trucks were loaded down with presents safely tucked away in oversized blue plastic bags, and food destined for families living in Miami County had already zipped off in all directions to be delivered.Jolly Santa soon boarded one of the two Paola fire trucks topped by oversized yellow bags filled with presents and rode off to Paola’s east side. Grinning and bouncing children greeted Santa and other volunteers at Miami County doorways. “Open Daddy, open Daddy,” said little Kumori Hoisington of Paola, while attempting to pick up her heavy yellow plastic bag filled with gifts. When the fire truck pulled up at the Autumn Bassett home, young voices in the yard yelled out, “They’re here, they’re here. It’s Santa!” Terri Duncan tried her best to contain the excitement of her girls, Natalie, Amber, Kaitlynn and Chloe. “Yes, it’s all for you girls, but you’re not opening it yet. This is all for Christmas,” Duncan told her children as Santa rode away. Young Kevin Cosgrove of Paola, known as “The Boss,” according to his parents, tried to lift the Radio Flyer wagon box that towered over him. He wouldn’t give up, and his father had to step in to help. Members of the sheriff’s office, fire and police volunteers from Paola, Louisburg and Osawatomie, and Paola’s First Christian Church delivered gifts and food to 550 children and 220 families Saturday morning. Operation Angel Trees and Cops for Tots, a combined program, blanketed the county, according to Miami County Sheriff’s department secretary, Brenda Leinweber, who co-chaired the 2008 program with Barb Fisher. “We had so many volunteers, so many more this year than ever before,” Leinweber said. The Angel Tree program is designed to provide gifts for children at Christmas time, whereas the Cops for Tots program raises funds to provide groceries for families in need. Cops for Tots also gives money to area school districts, Leinweber explained, and to church alliances. “We did so well with the auction that Cops for Tots also bought gifts for children not adopted in the Angel Trees program,” she said. Barb Fisher said they never have any idea how many people will become involved. “It all went really well. We’re not always sure how we’re perceived by other organizations or people in the county, but we truly are a county-wide organization and growing. Money collected is raised within the county, and it stays in the county,” Fisher said. Angel Trees, a 14-year old program, began in the memory of former Sheriff Ken Davis. “Davis loved children, and so Angel Trees came about,” Leinweber said. “We make an angel for each child signed up, and people come in and adopt them, and we provide a gift. Angel Trees is the gift part and Cops for Tots provides money for food, but this year we noticed people needed more help, so we used money raised to give more food,” she said. Groceries were purchased from Price Chopper in Paola and Moon’s Home Town Market in Osawatomie. “So many Miami County businesses have become involved in the auction,” Leinweber said. When Cops for Tots first began, police officers used squad cars to deliver gifts. “There’s not a lot of room in police cars, and, then, the fire department got involved with their fire trucks. It’s wonderful to have the firefighters involved,” she said. Although volunteers shivered in the cold, no precipitation interrupted the Christmas cheer. “Last year was miserable with sleet coming down. It was really neat how many people were involved this year. It was a good year,” Leinweber said. Fisher said she felt like she was having Cops for Tots withdrawals Sunday. “We start planning in February and March, and then this past Saturday we were all done by 11 p.m. That was fast, but it’s also because so many people pitched in to help,” she said.
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