Although this holiday season is about over, many will not soon forget it! Thanks, in huge part, to many of you, AP!
As you may recall, we did things differently this year. We aim to be more child-centric, giving them the best Christmas they could hope for! Instead of seeking toy donations, we prioritize monetary donations made through the APPD Holiday Fund. We then worked with our APISD school counselors to find children with significant needs. The benefit of this partnership made sure that ALL children within the needy family could share in the joy of Christmas. We had the child or their parent fill out a Christmas wish list “like a letter to Santa.” Next, we worked with APPD staff and community volunteers to shop for the kiddos, fulfilling their wish list. Though we did receive some toy donations, we supplied those donations to a local organization’s program that carried on the traditional toy collection and distribution to area children. So how did we do?
This year, we met the wants and needs of approximately 212 Aransas Pass area children. In conjunction with our annual Cops for Tots event, we also conducted the traditional Holiday Meal drive, supplying holiday meals to approximately 54 families. This year, we received approximately $11,760 in monetary donations for these holiday events. And since last year, our APPD Holiday Fund has remained healthy. WOW! Thank you, AP!
I’d also like to give a huge shout-out to our Texas A&M Criminal Justice interns, Ali and Meray. They remain committed to public service excellence and have contributed significantly this holiday season. Thank you, both! – Chief.
“Year after year, our program remains a huge success and blessing to so many. The 2024 holiday season was bright for many because of your generous contributions, AP. AP remains a great place to live, work, and play – hugely in part because of each who continually give back. Thank you!”
Both projects are carried out annually in memory of our late Sgt. Dennis Anders, who continually went above and beyond to ensure families in AP were able to celebrate the holiday season.
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