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Ceres Police gear up to brighten Christmas for less fortunate
• Collection bins for new toys are at different businesses
Griebel at Walmart
Ceres Police are gearing up to brighten the holiday for the less fortunate, such as the Dec. 12 "Shop with a Cop" program as seen here in 2015 with Keith Griebel. - photo by JEFF BENZIGER/ Courier file photo

Ceres police officers are doing their part to brighten the holiday season with an annual toy drive and plans to distribute gifts in the community with Santa riding aboard a SWAT vehicle.

This Saturday, Dec. 2, the Ceres Police SWAT vehicle will be parked at the Walmart Supercenter from 10:30 to 4 p.m. to collect toy donations from the public.

“This is a huge event that brings in hundreds of toys,” said Ceres Police Department spokesman Sgt. Dirk Nieuwenhuis.

The Ceres Police Officers Association has also set up collection barrels at police department headquarters, 2727 Third Street, and at various businesses if the public wishes to donate new unwrapped toys. Barrels are located at Sam’s Café, 3052 Fifth Street; Mr. Taquito, 1240 E Whitmore Ave.; Jenny’s, 1450 E. Hatch Road; Ace Hardware, 2531 E. Whitmore Avenue; and both Dollar General stores in Ceres.

On Saturday, Dec. 16 all those donated toys will be wrapped by city staff and any community volunteer who wants to help out at the Ceres Community Center. Later that day officers will then be accompanying Santa to deliver them to different neighborhoods identified as needy by Ceres Partnership for Healthy Children.

The Ceres Police Officers Association will also be conducting its “Shop with a Cop” program on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at the Walmart Supercenter.

The holiday gift program started out in 2013 as “Beards for Kids” program to allow officers to grow face hair in November and December in exchange for donations to the program. But the beards connotation eventually fell away as the department dropped its restrictions against officers growing facial hair and allowed officers to have beards year round to assist in recruitments.

“I think dang near everybody has a beard unless they just don’t want to have them anymore,” said Officer Brian Peterson, a key organizer of the collection effort. “That was one of the things that Chief Collins brought because we weren’t even garnering applications. So people that were coming out of the military or whatever their plea was to acquire applicants that were able to hang onto this job and love it and love the community they’ve been able to have beards and even some tattoos that are deemed appropriate.”