AC Police Department spread joy through its new Christmas initiative
Christmas was brighter than it might have been for more than 30 families from the Amarillo College workforce and student body thanks to a collaborative initiative spearheaded in December by the AC Police Department (ACPD).
The ACPD’s inaugural Christmas Initiative actually was twofold. First, AC employees provided gifts Angel-tree style for the children of fellow employees facing financial strain. In all, 52 kids in 27 families received Christmas presents from folks who work at the College. Recipient anonymity was entrusted to the Human Resources Department, which collaborated on the project.
Additionally, ACPD reached deep into its Community Engagement Program fund to come up with the wherewithal to purchase gifts not only for six financially strapped AC students, but for each of their dependents, too. A total of 50 family members, predominantly youngsters, received gifts in this compassionate effort.
To help punctuate the overall team effort, individuals from Human Resources, the Bookstore, and the Business Office turned up at ACPD to help the officers there wrap 102 gifts comprising both prongs of the Christmas Initiative.
Interim ACPD Chief Aaron Huddleston expressed profound gratitude for the swift and overwhelming response from the AC workforce.
“It was amazing how quickly members of our AC family came forward to help out their fellow employees,” he said. “This is an example of colleagues looking out for colleagues, of employees’ willingness to meet the needs of their peers. After all, not all family budgets or circumstances are the same. We have many single-parent households, for example. Everyone who sought help received it.
“Just as soon as we put out a message that we have colleagues in need, the AC family immediately stepped up,” Huddleston said. “I am so proud of the great sense of community that is evident in everything we do at this College.”
ACPD invited the entire workforce to apply for holiday assistance, then asked the AC benefactors who stepped up to adhere to a $50 limit per child, fulfilling wishes detailed on lists submitted by their parents. For instance, a 10-year-old girl might express a preference for a blue winter coat or size 6 shoes, along with a fondness for chocolate or licorice.
As for the student families, which were identified by social workers at AC’s Advocacy and Resource Center (ARC), ACPD requested that each recipient submit requests for something wanted, needed, to read, and to wear. Police officers went shopping and did their best to fulfill those requests, as their budget allowed.
“We asked the social workers at the ARC to identify a handful of students who have worked especially hard throughout the year, students in good academic standing whose sacrifices to completing their educations have been supreme and who very likely needed extra help to ensure a joyful holiday,” Huddleston said. “We wanted it to be a special day for everyone in their household, so we purchased gifts for the students and each of their dependents, as well.
“As our Community Engagement Program fund grows, and we are currently seeking to create an endowment for it through the AC Foundation, we hope to help even more students at Christmas in the years ahead. This, our first Christmas Initiative, was very successful, and it is something we look forward to doing again and again,” he said.
In addition to supporting the Christmas Initiative, the ACPD’s Community Engagement Program funds such annual on-campus endeavors as, among others, National Night Out in August, and a Trunk or Treat event at Halloween.