BROOKINGS – The COVID-19 pandemic has put many celebrations and gatherings on hold this year, and many families are wondering, “What will happen during Christmas?”
The pandemic has not stopped two local Brookings law enforcement officers from hosting their long-held tradition of bringing Christmas to families in need.
Brookings County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jon Pike and Brookings Assistant Police Chief Joe Fishbaugher are once again hosting their Christmas, Kids and Cops event on Dec. 16, only this year will be slightly different.
Each kid who is selected to participate will only be able to bring one parent along with the officer while they peruse the aisles of Wal-Mart, searching for any goodies for their families and themselves. The event will conclude with grabbing a meal at the Subway in Wal-Mart.
There will be three “shifts” for the families so it’s easier to social distance and minimize the interaction with multiple people. The allotted times are 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Pike said that he and Fishbaugher have been doing this event for around 15 years and have helped several hundred families celebrate Christmas. This year, the officers are hoping to have 36 kids participate.
Each child who is selected to participate is nominated by their respective school counselor, and all the students are from Brookings County. Pike said the counselors recommend certain students based on their and their family’s needs.
“Each kid will get a food basket that is provided. Sandy McClemans of the Department of Labor helps us with that. She organizes the baskets that are more like whole shopping carts,” Pike said. “These are underprivileged kids. … They might not even have a Christmas if we didn’t do this for them. And we thought about the COVID thing and not doing it this year, but we just thought that kids really have to have a Christmas this year and we still want to do it for them.”
“They will get a gift card from the theater here in Brookings. They will also get a gift card from a pizza establishment – we used to do Pizza Hut (which is now closed), so we’re looking at alternate ones this year,” Pike added. “And then they will get a gift card for Wal-Mart to go shopping with a law enforcement officer that night in the amount of around $275.”
“It really depends how much kids get each year,” Fishbaugher said. He said the gift cards and food items are all provided by free-will donations.
Fishbaugher said the need will be significant this year due to the pandemic causing job losses, and he worries that the ability of those who donate might be less than in the past, as well.
“When these kids get to shopping, they’re shopping not only to get themselves presents, but most of these kids are getting presents for their brothers, sisters, Mom and Dad. These kids that are in need, I’ve found, are the most giving kids in the world,” Pike said. “We rely so much on private donations through the community. Brookings is a great community; they’re always so giving. We’ve gotten a lot from local businesses, too. But I don’t know how things are going to go with COVID this year.”
“The best way to put this in perspective is to think that instead of stopping after work at McDonald’s or Burger King, give that $20 or $30 to the kids just that one time,” Fishbaugher said.
“How much we get determines how much each kid can spend, or even how many kids we’re able to serve,” Pike said. “But we’re going to make the best of it and we’re going to have an amazing time with the kids this year.”
The officers also received word from Santa Claus that he will be wandering around Wal-Mart at that time, too, so he can visit with all the children.
Those interested in donating can either send money to the Brookings Police Department at 307 Third Ave. or to the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office at 315 Seventh Ave.
Checks should be made out to “Christmas, Kids and Cops,” with “Joe Fishbaugher” for the BPD or “Jeremy Kriese” for the sheriff’s office on the attention line of the check.
For more information on how to help, call the BPD at 692-2113 or the sheriff’s office at 696-8300.
Contact Matthew Rhodes at mrhodes@brookingsregister.com.
