Westport Police officers collected presents for the annual holiday toy drive on the weekends of Dec. 9 and Dec. 16 outside of the Athletic Shoe Factory (ASF) on Post Road. The drive allows community members to connect with Police officers through donating gifts that are hand delivered to less privileged children during the holidays.
Although the police are involved in many events throughout town, officers at the event express their enjoyment of giving back to people in need.
With the back of his trailer full of presents, Officer Jim Sullivan explained the impact this event had on him. “Last year was my first year participating in this event,” Sullivan said. “I was really touched by how generous some people are with their donations.”
The drive boxes were not only set up at ASF, but were also outside of Renato’s Jewelers, Town Hall, and the Police Department itself. The drive accepts new unopened gifts, that don’t need to be pre wrapped either.
Mike Sharpe, ASF employee explained the origin of the event. “The Police Department had asked us many years ago about starting this event,” Sharpe said. “Ever since, it has been an important aspect of the holiday season in Westport.”
The toy drive was started years ago by a woman who worked for AMR Ambulance Service, and the drive has since stuck with the community. It used to involve a variety of police departments, AMR, and other organizations.
“I’ve known about the drive for a while,” Timmy Liles ’18. “I always give them my old toys.”
Sgt. Jill Ruggiero described how the Mondays following the toy drive were used for the officers to deliver the gifts to agencies and local families that the Police have been partnered with for several years. Ruggiero added that officers would shop and purchase toys on the last day of the drive with the cash donations they received.
“Sponsored by police Local Union 2080 and the Police Benevolent Association, the program has been extremely successful in the past, allowing for thousands of toys to be distributed to children who otherwise would have none,” WestportNow mentioned in their article about the event.
With this years drive ending, many Staples students hope to participate in the event in future years. “Since both weekends of the toy drive are over, I definitely plan on contributing to this event next year,” Zoe Julien ’20 said. “It makes me really happy to provide less fortunate kids with gifts that most kids here in Westport take for granted.”
“The goal of the drive is simple,” Ruggiero said. “To bring as much joy to children during the holiday season that we can through what we know makes them happy…toys.”