Lima students and their families received some early Christmas joy on Saturday.
The Fraternal Order of Police teamed up with Santa Claus himself to deliver presents to students that are struggling. These students were picked out by their counselors at school. These counselors identified each family that is in need of the Christmas Spirit.
"Unfortunately, this year I received so many names that were affected by COVID, so just to give them something positive to look forward to with all the trauma that they have gone in their life is amazing," said School Resource Officer Amanda Leugers.
Mrs. Claus joined in the delivering of gifts, saying that this time of year she loves to see the smiles on kids' faces.
"I just love doing this," said Mrs. Claus. "We love to come down form the north pole and spread the joy and cheer and love."
The event also aimed to instill a positive interaction with law enforcement.
"The positive police impact that we are having on these kids, that hopefully will affect their future," said Rhonda Cassady, an Administrative Assistant with the Allen County Sheriff's Office. "Really important that we are able to spread some holiday cheer to these families."
And families were indeed surprised. They were alerted to the delivery by loud police and fire sirens, and when they came out, Santa was there with police officers to deliver presents as well as food for the holidays.
"it was such a surprise to me... I was like, WOW!" said Emily Kindle, a single mother, who says that the gifts will go a long way in surprising her son. "He has autism... he's not a picky person, he will probably be just as surprised as I am."
More than 10 families were helped during the event.
