Hickory police get ready for more giving

Department collects for Cops for Tots program

Sun, Nov. 25, 2007

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

Santa's helpers at the Hickory Police Department are starting to work on getting toys and gifts ready for the holiday season.

Every year, the department collects new and slightly used toys for Hickory-area children who might not otherwise have gifts waiting for them, said Sgt. Bob Winters, the department's community services supervisor.

The Cops for Tots program has been growing steadily since the early 1980s, when the department first started gathering games and toys -- and asked officers to play Santa and make deliveries to Hickory homes.

As the program grew more popular, the department started thinking about ways it could reach more kids and give more gifts, Winters said.

In the early 1990s, the department decided to open a Christmas Wish House where parents could browse toys and pick which toys they wanted for their children, he said.

The Wish House worked so well, Winters said, that it grew over the years, and police were able to get gifts to hundreds more children. Last year, more than 2,100 children opened Cops for Tots gifts, he said.

The department sets up donation boxes across the city and, for three days, opens the Wish House to parents and legal guardians shopping for infants, toddlers, elementary and middle school-aged children and teenagers.

Gift collection will run through Dec. 14, and the department will give the toys away at the Wish House -- the multipurpose building at Winkler Park, next to L.P. Frans Stadium -- Dec. 17-19.

Want to give?
Police are collecting gifts for children of all ages, including infants and teenagers. Gifts can be dropped off at several locations across Hickory, including most of the city's middle schools.
Monetary donations can be sent to: Hickory Police Department, Cops for Tots, 347 Second Ave. S.W., 28602

Drop-off locations
Hickory Police Department, 347 Second Ave. S.W.
The Arts and Science Center of Catawba Valley, 243 Third Ave. N.W.
Jenkins Elementary School, 3750 N. Center St.
Viewmont Elementary, 21 16th Ave., N.W.
Oakwood Elementary, 366 Fourth St. N.W.
Details: 828-324-2060

All content © THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER and may not be republished without permission.