Now in its 27th year, our annual holiday toy drive brings joyful memories to the children served by the Children’s Assessment Center (CAC), an advocacy center dedicated to providing compassionate services to abused children in our area.
Every holiday season, Sheriff’s Office team members purchase toys and other gifts from wish lists to help make the holidays brighter, making a difference in the lives of children in need. Today, our teammates and CAC staff unloaded a semi-truck full of gifts for 512 children.
Our agency participates in a coordinated response against child abuse that includes partnering with advocates. It’s a heartbreaking issue and one we cannot confront alone. Our close, long-time partnership with the CAC has helped ensure the well-being and safety of our community’s most valuable asset. Our Crimes Against Children Unit investigators, whose mission is to thoroughly investigate allegations of child abuse, work hand in hand with the advocacy center to provide abused children with the proper assistance, treatment, and support services to start their healing process.
Shop With a Cop Benefiting Sunshine Thru the Rain
This weekend, Sheriff’s Office deputies and detention officers plan to shop with 22 children served by Sunshine thru the Rain for holiday gifts at a Walmart in Tomball. Each child will work on a holiday craft and get $200 to spend on gifts, including clothes, toys, and other things they need or want.
“It’s not uncommon for the officers to open their own wallets at the registers to make sure everything in the shopping cart makes it home,” said Joanne Rodriguez, president and founder of Sunshine thru the Rain, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting children that have lost one or both of their parents.
“This is their favorite event and something they look forward to all year,” said Heather, one of the surviving parents. “It’s hard to describe it – it’s seen in their faces and felt by being there.”
I’m thankful to lead an agency that comes together during this special time of the year to benefit children in our community. Our community’s giving spirit makes a difference in the lives of children who may not have experienced the warmth and joy of the holidays without their neighbor’s support.