.png)
SAN MARCOS POLICE DEPARTMENT
Blue Santa in need of gift wrapping assistance
There’s a special Santa that comes every year to deliver presents to children in need in San Marcos, and that Santa wears blue — both during and after the holiday season. The San Marcos Police Department will once again be hosting its annual Blue Santa. The program is coordinated by SMPD Officer Laray Taylor, and he’s been in charge of it for around 12 years now. Taylor is in need of gift wrapping assistance from 6 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the old CVS in the shopping center where Alvin Ord’s and Subway are located. There will be snacks and refreshments for those that participate.
The only requirement to receive gifts is that a family has one kid in the San Marcos Independent School District, but that doesn’t mean that is the only child in the family that will receive one. The only stipulation is that the child must not be older than 12. If someone has used the program before, there is a database where the ages of the children are kept.
“When an application is submitted, it is submitted for the entire family, not just the one child at school,” Taylor said. “We ask them to identify all the kids, and each kid in the household gets two gifts. That’s why you see such a large inventory.”
The gifts will be distributed on Dec.
20, and there is no shortage of them.
“We have quite a large inventory, and we buy that,” Taylor said. “We do that because last year we assisted 440 families.”
Blue Santa also helps children with special needs, and in those cases, Taylor goes the extra mile to make sure they are getting something that will make them happy.
“When I get those applications, I call those parents and ask specifically, ‘What does your child need?’ And, ‘What’s something that would help them, or something that they like or that will stimulate them?’ So that they don’t get something like this and they can’t do anything with it,” he said.
SMPD doesn’t accept gift donations as they adhere to strict quality standards, but they do accept financial donations. Donations made now would go toward next year’s gifts, and Taylor said that would be very helpful as he shops for Blue Santa all year long.
Send a check or money order to San Marcos Police Dep artment at 2300 S I-35 South Frontage Rd.
