Greensboro police distributed gifts to families in need recently through Operation Yuletide. | Adobe Stock
Greensboro police distributed gifts to families in need recently through Operation Yuletide. | Adobe Stock
Santa’s sleigh looked like a police vehicle Dec. 14 in Greensboro as local police spread holiday cheer out of a patrol car.
“We wear so many hats. Tonight we’re wearing a Santa hat,” said Sam Alvarez, a Greensboro community resource officer, in an ABC report.
All the police asked in return was to share in the joy, and apparently they did. Community resource officer Jamie Fulton summed up afterward, “The looks on the [childrens'] faces and the smiles that we get make it so rewarding.”
The police called the effort Operation Yuletide, and it gave officers the opportunity to distribute gifts to more than 50 families in the area.
“This going to be amazing for my kids,” parent Nicole Lewis said. “To be able to wake up and see this and be ecstatic that they actually get to have a Christmas.”
Lewis has four children, with two in and out of the hospital. She said caring for her family has taken priority over work in recent weeks.
She described her feelings about the effort as “very thankful.”
“I’m without a job right now so Christmas wouldn’t be anything like it used to be without this... for people to want to help, [it] feels good,” Lewis said.
Some Greensboro police officers call it their favorite night of the year.
“We all have to take care of each other and no matter where you are or where you live,” Fulton said. “We all are in this together.”
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