North Platte Police deliver the Christmas magic to local families

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - The North Platte Police Department is making Christmas a little brighter for families through the Santa Cop program.

Public Information Officer Matt Elder is delivering gifts through Monday to 43 families in the community this week. Families say they can’t thank the community enough for allowing their children to have a Christmas.

“I didn’t really know about it, I mean they just called me randomly. I didn’t know how my name got in there or even what they did until Matt explained but I think it’s terrific,” Jasmine Boe said. “There is a lot of people out there that could be nominated for it, so it was really nice that somebody did that.”

“It’s been pretty tough especially with the pandemic. My job put me out of my job this year,” Julian Hernandez said. “My son has been wanting bigger stuff that we couldn’t afford this year so we’re grateful that we were able to sign him up with the Santa Cop this year.”

The gifts were all made possible through community donations. Officer Elder says without these donations and countless volunteers, the program could not exist.

“We anticipated a rise in the children that would need the help this year which we saw,” said Officer Elder. “We also had concerns that people may not be able to donate like they would in the past, but this year North Platte, Lincoln County has answered the call and it’s been amazing.”

Although the police department is in delivery mode, donations can still be made to the program all year long.

If you would like to donate to Santa Cop, you can send your tax-deductible donation to:

North Platte Police Department

C/O Santa Cop

701 South Jeffers

North Platte, NE 69101

- Beatriz Reyna