MUKILTEO — True to tradition, the magic of Christmas can be seen in the eyes of a child lost in the wonderment of gifts.
“It’s cool to see children come out when we show up, and to see their faces light as we give them decorated stockings and gifts,” Officer Colt Davis said.
The Mukilteo Police Department delivered stockings and gifts to children from the Mukilteo early-childhood education program and their families.
“We receive notice of families that need a little extra help through the holidays, and we try to accommodate that as best as we can,” Davis said.
Davis has been involved in Christmas programs with Mukilteo police for the six years. The most important thing he sees is the building of community relations, he said.
“We want people to have positive experiences with officers. We want people to know that we are approachable,” he said.
In previous years, officers participated in the shop-with-a-cop program, which gave kids an allowance to go shopping for things they wanted. This year, police adopted a family.
“A school social worker had mentioned to me that this family was interested in participating in shop-with-a-cop again this year. They are having a rough time. Their daughter asked why they can’t be like normal families,” Davis said. The mother has cancer, and the father is unemployed, unable to hold a job while caring for his wife.
When they spoke with the family, police found they wanted basic things like shoes, coats and fresh food.
The community came together in a big way with monetary donations. Somebody even donated a fresh turkey for the family to have on Christmas.
“We are so thankful to the community, we could not have done this without their support,” Davis said.
Officers were to take the kids shopping this weekend and let them choose gifts.
“Everyone deserves to have a normal and every parent deserves to feel that sense of pride in giving their children a Christmas gift,” Davis said.
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