The generosity of Villages residents continues to pour into the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
On Friday morning, officers of the Yesteryear Kart Club arrived at the Sheriff’s Annex with a check for $1,000 and five big black bags stuffed with toys. Representatives of the Day Lily Runs Social Club presented a check for $500.
Lt. Robert Siemer and Theresa Cooper, community outreach coordinator, expressed their appreciation to Yesteryear Kart Club representatives Tony Costa, Daryl Ware and June Fuller and to Donna Eaton, Joe and Yolanda Gehring and Sandi Madseu with the Day Lily Runs Social Club.
“There is a real need out there,” said Cooper, “we will reach over 800 children this year in Sumter County through our various Christmas programs.”
“The Yesteryear Kart Club had a desire to help locally and started donating to the Sheriff’s office five years ago,” said club president Costa, “we hold 50/50 raffles each month at our meetings, and we also raise money and get a lot of the toys at the tree lighting at Lake Sumter Landing.”
The toys will go directly to families, who might not otherwise have a Christmas. Lt. Siemer said that these families are often identified by the deputies who get to know the families in the area they cover. Cooper contacts the family to find out the ages and gender of the children and any special wants the child may have. Doing her best to fulfill the desires, she bags up the presents for each family and they are delivered to the parents at a pre-arranged time when the children won’t be home.
“As you can imagine many of these homes are small, maybe just a single-wide trailer,” said Siemer, “we have found some very creative places to hide the packages.”
The presents are delivered with wrapping paper also donated by Village residents, so the parents can then wrap and give their children the presents on Christmas morning. A food box is also delivered so the family can prepare a Christmas dinner.
“We see it every year,” said Lt. Siemer,”some of the kids are more excited by the food than the presents.”
The money will go towards the Kids, Cops and Christmas program that will be held this year on Dec. 16 at the Wal-Mart on 466 and later that day in Bushnell. Over two hundred children identified by the schools as being in need will shop one-on-one with a sheriff deputy to pick out their own Christmas presents. Each child is given fifty dollars to spend.
If you would like to contribute to Kids, Cops and Christmas you can drop off cash or a check to the Sheriff’s Annex. Checks are made out to SCSO Benevolent Fund. There is also still time to drop off toys or clothes, “a lot of children put clothes on their wish list,” said Cooper.
To get more information about a toy or clothes donation, call Theresa Cooper at (352) 689-4604.
“We are so appreciative to the groups and clubs, like the Yesteryear Kart Club,” said Lt. Siemer, “they are making it possible for children, who would normally do without, to have presents at Christmas.”