Carson City Sheriff's Office Reserves deliver gifts to families, children on Christmas Eve
Neither wind nor rain nor dark of night could keep Santa Claus and his merry elves from delivering Christmas joy to more than 70 Carson City families Monday night as part of the Carson City Sheriff's Office Reserve Santa program, a 38-year tradition of bringing holiday smiles to local children on Christmas Eve.
"This gets us out into the community, where we can come into people's homes and bring Christmas to them," said Carson City Sheriff's Office Reserve Commander Tom Crawford, who has led the event for the past 16 years. "We absolutely love seeing the smiles on children's faces on Christmas Eve."
Despite pouring rain and soaking wet conditions, Carson City Sheriff's deputies in marked patrol units escorted six Santa Clauses to 72 homes Monday night. They along with elf volunteers helped deliver well over 100 gifts to surprised and excited little faces.
The Santas braving the elements this year are Sven Inda, Mike Creager, William Birk, Daniel Rollverg, Nick Mcgahuey and Bill Schilling.
Schilling, a volunteer with the Carson City Sheriff's Office, is an eight-year veteran of the Reserve Santa program and has served as Santa Claus each of those years.
He said he does this every year for one reason, and one reason only.
"It's the kids and all about the kids," Schilling said. "It's just good for a little kid to have a great time."
The looks on children's faces when they answer the doorbell and see standing at the threshold none other than St. Nicholas himself is a priceless Christmas gift for all of the Sheriff's volunteers who spend time away from their families to bring Christmas smiles to others.
Crawford said the annual Christmas Eve tradition, now more than three decades old, is the embodiment of community involvement that the Carson City Sheriff's Office has gained a reputation for.
"One hundred and twenty percent this is community policing at its best," he said.
Here's how it works:
Starting the first week of December, the Carson City Sheriff's Office Reserve distributes a notice out into the community with a hotline phone number to call for parents or guardians who want their children to experience a visit from Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Contact information is obtained from those who respond. Then plans are made for the much-anticipated, but surprise visit.
When Santa arrives at a residence, the gift packages are already neatly wrapped and ready for him to put in his pack before ringing the door bell.
The Santa Reserve program relies on Sheriff’s Office volunteers to staff the event. Besides the Santas and the deputies who escort them, the elves help make spirits bright with smiles, laughter, hugs and warmth.
This year's band of merry elves included Kelley Perotti, Karen Jessop, Sindy Scarce, and Homer Dagdagan.
But Christmas cheer was not limited just to residences. Santa and his elves also visited children inside the pediatric unit at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center Monday night, a special part of the program that shares holiday magic with small patients who won't be home sitting in front of their own trees this Christmas.
Tonight, when your children bed down with night-time prayers, hoping for that special visit from Santa Claus, be sure to ask them to put in a good word for the folks at the Carson City Sheriff's Office, going above and beyond for their community yet again.
- Carson City
- Carson City Sheriff's Office
- Band
- carson
- carson city sheriff
- Carson Tahoe
- Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center
- center
- children
- Christmas
- christmas cheer
- City
- community
- Community,
- Daniel
- december
- deputies
- event
- Experience
- families
- gift
- gifts
- help
- holiday
- home
- homes
- hotline
- information
- kids
- Kids!
- local
- love
- medical
- News
- parents
- program
- rain
- regional
- santa
- Santa Claus
- sheriff's office
- spirits
- staff
- tahoe
- Trees
- Veteran
- Volunteer
- volunteers
- wind
- sheriff