Sheriff’s Santa Patrol readys for holidays
The Walton County Sheriff's Office’s Santa Patrol is gearing up to make this Christmas an enjoyable one for some of Walton County’s children.
To start the season off right, Cyndi Mount, Department Manager for Wal-Mart in DeFuniak Springs, presented Capt. Eddie Farris with a check on behalf of Wal-Mart to help make things better for our local children.
For almost twenty years now, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office has joined with local citizens and merchants to make this program as successful as possible. The Sheriff’s Santa Patrol has helped hundreds of children in Walton County in the last decade alone have a little brighter Christmas morning. While some Santa’s Patrol members agree that some people do take advantage of it, they know that most are in real need. But this doesn’t discourage them. They know it is more important to try to help as many families as they can.
“I know the program works. I am very confident about it," said Capt. Farris. "We all enjoy what we do and deep down inside knowing that we help one kid smile makes our Christmas even better. Occasionally, we receive a letter asking for personal items such as clothes, toothpaste, or shampoo. We try to get whatever we can to help a family out.”
The Sheriff’s Santa Patrol is asking for local support through gifts of toys or through monetary donations.
The goal this year is to provide toys and gifts to as many local children as possible. The Sheriff’s Santa Patrol asks anyone wanting to help to drop off new toys at the Walton County Sheriff’s Office in DeFuniak Springs or the substations in Santa Rosa Beach or Paxton.
Donations are also welcome. Checks should be made payable to Wal-Mart/Walton County Sheriff’s Office and mail it to:
Walton County Sheriff's Office
Attn: Capt. Farris
P.O. Box 1388
DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435
For more information, contact Capt. Farris at (850) 892-8186.