Karen Laws, Casey Lee and Brandy Holden operate Frontline Santas, gathering the addresses, ages and genders of children in the county who most need the program, taking donations and “adopting” the remaining families after the donations run out.
Bags of toys lined the halls outside of Avery County Communications, while EMS workers and local law enforcement officers picked them up to deliver them to the children’s homes.
Karen Laws, Casey Lee and Brandy Holden operate Frontline Santas, gathering the addresses, ages and genders of children in the county who most need the program, taking donations and “adopting” the remaining families after the donations run out.
Photo by Lily Kincaid
Bags of toys lined the halls outside of Avery County Communications, while EMS workers and local law enforcement officers picked them up to deliver them to the children’s homes.
AVERY COUNTY — As a true display of the spirit of giving, the Avery County Sheriff’s Office delivered toys to hundreds of Avery County children this Christmas.
Frontline Santas started around eight years ago and is a collaborative effort between Avery County Communications, Avery County Sheriff’s Office and Avery County EMS, said Karen Laws, who works with Avery County Communications. Laws, Brandy Holden of Avery County Communications and Casey Lee with ACSO are currently in charge of the program.
Each year, the organization reaches out to schools across the county to determine which kids would benefit the most from Frontline Santas. Kids who need a little extra love, need a positive experience with officers or need some extra gifts are the ones that the program focuses on the most, Laws said. Those running the program only get the address, age and gender of each child in the program, so the kids remain anonymous, Laws added.
“Several of us come from poor backgrounds growing up, and most of us, our families were in emergency services to start with,” Laws said. “We just want to give back.”
The group started taking donations in November, but it hopes to eventually start taking donations sooner if it can find a place to store the toys, Laws said. All of the gifts come from community donations, and in the future, the organization also hopes to do a fundraiser for Frontline Santas, she said.
Avery County Communications and ACSO take donations from the community for the program, and EMS workers, as well as local law enforcement agencies, deliver the presents, Laws said. Along with toys for each child in the household, the packages contained hygiene products, such as shampoo, conditioner, hair brushes and blankets.
Frontline Santas has grown every year since it started, Holden said. This year, 150 households, totaling 330 children, received gifts through the program. Members of the Avery County High School boys varsity basketball team helped carry all of the presents up to the communications office, Laws said. Harmony Baptist Church, Cranberry Baptist Church, Mt. Calvary Freewill Baptist Church and Fall Creek Baptist Church, along with numerous anonymous donors, made it possible for the law enforcement officers, EMS workers and communications employees to package and hand-deliver the presents to Avery County children this Christmas.
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Thanks to modern technologies, you and more people are reading the Watauga Democrat than ever before. Freedom of the press is essential to preserving democracy: But a free press isn't free. It takes significant resources for Mountain Times Publications' 8 full-time journalists and editors to provide credible, fact-based and ethical journalism in the High Country. So, we are asking you to join our advertisers and print subscribers in supporting local journalism with your dollar. Your financial support will help sustain these services that you use to inform your decisions and engage with your community.
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