The 33 families who attended the Centralia Police Officers Association’s A Night Out with Santa event last week each went home with food, gifts and hearts full enough to last them through Christmas Day.
The annual event served 92 kids this year, and Centralia Police Chief Stacy Denham said organizers want to try and serve even more kids next year.
“We want to best ourselves, if you will, because besting ourselves means that we’re helping that many more members of our community and making that Christmas miracle come to life not just for kids, but for families,” Denham said.
Unlike a standard Shop With a Cop event, kids benefiting from A Night Out With Santa receive bags of gifts pre-purchased and wrapped by Centralia police officers and volunteers, along with a plethora of food and other donated items.
“Even though it was a great experience, (Shop With a Cop) wasn’t as efficient and it didn’t really encapsulate the magic of Christmas,” Denham said.
Kids participating in A Night Out With Santa don’t get their presents right away — first, families take photos with Santa Claus, then they get to go pick out free coats, hats, gloves and blankets from a supply of donations.
“They get really excited about it,” Denham said.
Then kids can pick out some toys such as Play-Doh and teddy bears to play with right away before sitting down with their families, Centralia police officers, their families and other volunteers for dinner.
“We sit down at the table, the officer gets to spend some time with them, talking to them, you know, just kind of get the experience, joke around with them a little bit. And then when they're done with that, then we take them to get their Christmas gifts,” said Denham. “The officers go back and grab this big bag. And in a lot of cases, it’s a huge, oversized garbage bag. And it's clear, they can see all these gifts inside this garbage bag. They're all wrapped up and you don't know what they are, but (the bags) have names on them. And they figure that out really quickly.”
As families are walking out with their gifts, they received free pizzas, desserts and cookie dough from volunteers Kim and Bob Beauchamp, as well as a free holiday meal special from Fuller’s Shop’n Kart.
“When they walk out, they’re pretty much laden down with gifts and food and clothes, and everybody walks out with two or three bags of stuff. And, of course, they also walk out with the experience, and that experience carries over for the next couple of weeks to make it to Christmas,” Denham said.
The Centralia Police Officers Association spent between $6,000 and $7,000 on gifts for this year’s A Night Out With Santa, on top of discounts granted by Chehalis Walmart and donated items.
The money comes from year-round fundraisers and community donations earmarked specifically for the event, said Denham.
“We can't do it without the volunteers, the good people coming in and helping out, and we can't do it without donations,” Denham said.
Sponsors of this year’s event included Lund Trucking, Walmart, Cash Northwest, GNC, Fuller's Shop’n Kart and others.
Anyone interested in sponsoring the event, making a donation or nominating a family to benefit from next year’s A Night Out With Santa is encouraged to contact the Centralia Police Department at 360-330-7680.
