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Santa, police deliver gifts
Bearded officers join in community effort
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Ceres officers deliver bikes to children in one Ceres family. - photo by Contributed to the Courier

Hundreds of toys were delivered to hundreds of children in Ceres Saturday thanks to the generosity of the community and Ceres Police Department.

The delivery of gifts through the 2nd annual Beards for Kids Toy Drive conducted by the Ceres Police Department and the Ceres Police Officers Association, was made through Santa Claus aboard a SWAT armored vehicle.

"This was successful because of our community members who donated toys," said Police Officer Jason Coley. "The reaction from the community during this event was overwhelming."

There were so many gifts that every child encountered on Saturday's delivery run received a wrapped present.

The program targeted gifts for children aged newborn to 15.
Many of the officers came in on their own time and some used vacation days to help make deliveries, said Coley.

Business partners who assisted were Walmart, Dollar General, McDonalds, Ceres Partnership for Healthy Children and several community members.