Sheriff’s Santa’s offer gift-giving spirit to local children

Police followed 20 children out of the Casa Grande Wal-Mart Saturday morning as they carried $750 in merchandise with them.

The Sheriff’s Santas, sponsors and children pose for a photo before entering Wal-Mart to shop Saturday.

Once Sheriff’s deputies and Ak-Chin police caught up with the school-aged youth from Ak-Chin, Maricopa, Stanfield and Casa Grande, they helped them load the goods onto buses to complete the Sheriff’s Santa’s charity shopping spree.

“It’s neat that we get to come here and touch families’ lives; that we can help them have a Christmas they normally wouldn’t have,” said Pinal County Sheriff Chris Vasquez, a sponsor of the event.

The charity started in September as a golf tournament used to raise the initial bulk of its money. The event was organized by Maricopa UPS Store owner Taylor Werner, who borrowed the idea from his days as a golf pro in Tennessee where he worked with a local law enforcement agency on a similar benefit.

Now that this former charity worker lives in Maricopa, he thought this community would be a good place for him to switch hats and become the charity event organizer.

“I went to the Sheriff with the idea, and he thought it was a good one,” he said.

Once the Sheriff was on board, along with Optimist Club and Global Water committee members, Taylor said this tourney – combined with additional funding – brought in almost $30,000 for Sheriff’s Santa’s.

“We hope to double the funds next year and add a celebrity to the tournament,” Werner said. “It’s all about the children.”

Sheriff Chris Vasquez and Maricopa UPS Store owner Taylor Werner were the primary sponsors of the event.

In order to identify which children would benefit from this charity, sheriff’s officials identified low-income candidates based on their school’s reduced lunch program. Participants were selected from a hat, according to sheriff’s spokesperson Cpl. Stormee Wallace.

Each child participant received a $750 gift certificate at Wal-Mart and was then escorted by a sheriff’s deputy around the store. Children picked out something for themselves as well as gifts for family members.

Eduardo, a 10-year-old from Maricopa, said he was very excited when he found out Wednesday that he was selected for the event. He had a lot of shopping ahead of him if he intended to buy gifts for everyone in the family.

“He bought something for all of his siblings before he found something for himself,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Tami Villar, Eduardo’s escort. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the kids,” she said. “It shows them that the police aren’t bad, and that we don’t just put people in jail. It shows that we are human,” Villar said.

Sheriff’s Dept. Sgt. Tami Villar and 10-year-old Eduardo, from Maricopa, look for a gift for his grandmother during the Sheriff’s Santas event at Wal-Mart Saturday.

The Sheriff agreed. He said opportunities like this teach children the value of giving as well as receiving.

“They get a chance to feel good about themselves,” Vasquez said. “They are making choices for their families.”

Deputy Kent Ogaard, a school resource officer at Maricopa High School, escorted 8-year-old Rodolfo from Stanfield.

From the time they entered the building, Rodolfo knew exactly what he wanted. He headed straight to the back of the store to electronics where he found a Sony PSP videogame player. He collected a player and some games, and then headed out to shop for the family.

Like many of the children, Rodolfo had a hard time spending the entire $750. After finding gifts for his family, he found himself back at the video games.

Deputy Kent Ogaard, a Maricopa High School resource officer, and 8-year-old Rodolfo from Stanfield stare at a wall of games. Rodolfo wasn’t sure if he should buy more games despite the remaining credits on his gift card.

As he stared at the wall of games, Rodolfo, a child who is used to not having everything he wants, appeared to be facing an ethical dilemma – how to spend the rest of the money.

He found a game that caught his interest and turned to the deputy to consult with him about what to do with his remaining gift credit.

“Do you want it?” asked Ogaard.

“It costs a lot of money,” said the child.

“But do you want it?” repeated the deputy.

They youth began to twist nervously and fidget. He turned his head up to the deputy for a final look of approval, then smiled and grabbed the game.

Rodolfo’s selflessness and gratitude was common among many of the children that day.

“A lot of the time we deal with what is bad,” said Ogaard. “It is refreshing to see the good side of humanity.”