For over 30 years, GPD has made families’ Christmas a little more merry and bright.

By Eliza PARTIKA

All was merry and bright at the Glendale Police Dept. (GPD) on Dec. 14 when officers and volunteers assembled to deliver gifts to Glendale families. For over 30 years the Glendale Police Officers’ Association (GPOA) Cops for Kids program has served dozens of Glendale families in need. Members of the GPD and department volunteers adopt families during the holidays, delivering trees and gifts in time for Christmas.

Each year officers work with educators and school administrators to identify children in need of assistance. Officers will also add names to the gift-giving list if they have interacted with a family they believe would benefit from the program. Volunteers then make home visits to speak with families and identify their needs. Fundraisers throughout the year, including a golf tournament, car show and poker night, help fund gifts.

Kitchen goods, bicycles, toys and clothing filled colorfully wrapped boxes overflowing on tables set up in the Glendale Police Station Community Room where volunteers and officers gathered to ready the gifts for delivery. This year, 25 families throughout Glendale, Montrose and La Crescenta received gifts.

“It’s inspiring to see how many officers want to volunteer and be part of such a great, great cause,” said Detective Jamilah Jabali, who organized this year’s event.

For many of the officer volunteers and their relatives, it was their first time working with the program. One volunteer, Claudia, said she was happy to lend a helping hand at Christmas. Decked out in a glowing peppermint headband and a red and green Grinch sweater, she gathered handfuls of gift bags to stack on tables.

“Christmas runs in my family. I always prefer to give than to receive gifts. I’m curious to see the process and excited to give to families in need,” she said.

Officer Jose Barajas, who helped Detective Jabali spearhead this year’s event, said he continued to volunteer, even after three years, because he sees how families truly appreciate and need the help offered through this program.

“When I grew up, we didn’t have a lot of money, so to be able to give back and know this is a way we can really connect with the community – that’s how I’m really able to make a difference to the younger generation,” he said.

Jean Kirigan, a volunteer for the Cops for Kids program since 2014, said her most memorable moment was a family that was so excited at the sight of the officers bringing gifts.

“The apartment was tiny and they had a scruffy Christmas tree, but it was their attempt to decorate for Christmas. There was nothing really there. And bless her heart, the lady of the house had made us cookies. When the officers started to carry in everything, the room started to shrink because there were so many packages. I remember that, and the look on the kids’ faces. Bigger and bigger their eyes got.”

Each year, Kirigan looks forward to the impact the gesture has on families.

“Some of these families wouldn’t have Christmas if it weren’t for the generosity of the officers and the people who donate,” she said.

Weeks before the gifts are delivered, volunteers take donated money and wish lists from families to purchase gifts from local stores. One volunteer said she used her own money and coupons to add extra gifts for one of the families on her list. It’s not uncommon for officers and volunteers to contribute their own money to make Christmas extra special for the families on their list. Several vans are needed to deliver gifts to each house – packages overflow from boxes that touch the ceiling, filling the back seats and trunks.

A few days before gifts are delivered, families receive trees to decorate. One family requested and received two trees – one white and pink for their daughter, the other green and red, the son’s favorite colors. The boy’s eyes sparkled as he held up a newly unwrapped basketball for his father to see before bouncing it all over the living room. His sister beamed at the sight of new sparkly black and pink shoes emerging from the Christmas wrapping.

“This is the first time they are helping with this, and my kids are really very happy,” said the father of two. “My daughter and wife really like the white and pink, and my son likes the green. The officers came with the colors that my family likes, and I appreciate that.”

A little boy peeked out from behind an apartment door as officers and volunteers arrived at his home with a new bicycle and wrapped gifts. He told officers he was so surprised and shocked at the bicycle that he didn’t know what to say. His mother laughed and beamed with a bright smile as she unwrapped a blender under the tree.

“I love fruit and I always eat it,” she said. “I’m excited to make smoothies.”

“I’m very amazed at what’s happening here,” she told the Crescenta Valley Weekly when asked about her thoughts on the program. “I was surprised. I never thought that something like this could happen. I never thought that police officers could come and bring gifts. It was unbelievable … until I saw that they came and it’s all true. I can’t find the words to express how I feel.”

GPD continues to accept applications for gifts until Christmas as well as donations for other projects. Email jbarajas@glendaleca.gov for more information on how to apply.

To donate, visit https://glendalepoa.com/.