Police officers knock at the door – bringing toys

Nikki Whitaker finished her third-shift job at 5:30 a.m. Saturday and was fast asleep when Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers knocked at the door of her parents’ home.

Still groggy, Whitaker greeted them fearing someone in the home was being arrested. Then she noticed the officers carrying boxes of toys, which they said were Christmas gifts intended for her two daughters, ages 2 and 6.

Whitaker, 24, turned her head away and started to cry.

“I’m not the kind of person to ask people for help like this,” said Whitaker, who is struggling financially after separating from her husband three months ago. “Maybe it’s pride, or maybe I feel I don’t deserve it. I just wish my two girls were here right now to see this: pure kindness, coming from the heart.”

It was a scene repeated hundreds of times Saturday, as groups of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, Explorer Scouts and Charlotte firefighters participated in the annual CMPD Explorers Christmas Project. Several men dressed convincingly like Santa Claus (and at least one Mrs. Claus) also volunteered to help deliver.

In all, nearly 1,400 children from 600 low-income families were visited Saturday by police carrying boxes of toys and food provided by Second Harvest Food Bank.

That’s about 200 more children than the program helped last year.

The project, now in its 42nd year, falls at a time when police departments in Charlotte and nationwide are working to improve their community relations, following a series of fatal police shootings of suspects.

Police say they’ve grown accustomed to suspicious peeks through curtains and a reluctance to open the doors during deliveries.

“Having someone dressed as Santa going on deliveries is helpful in cases where having police at the door isn’t necessarily a good thing,” said Terry Cartwright, 61, in his fourth year as a volunteer Santa accompanying police officers. “If Santa is there, it must be OK, even if there are three or four squad cars outside.”

Most of the families receiving toys this year were found by police or firefighters responding to calls that turned out to involve parents in the midst of a financial or domestic violence crisis. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools counselors also made referrals, which is how Nikki Whitaker and her two children got on the list.

The project began in 1974, when a Charlotte country club hosted an event that encouraged attendees to bring toys for needy kids. However, the club didn’t have a way to distribute the gifts, so it gave them to the police.

It turned out there were enough toys for 15 families, so the department crafted a plan to find 15 needy households and delivered the toys to their door, bringing along someone dressed as Santa.

Four decades later, the program is reaching new levels, including enlisting partners like CPI Security, Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army, which supplies stuffed Christmas stockings for all the children.

Donations this year jumped by as much 400 percent, which police say may be the result of greater community awareness and promotion.

Among the 348 bikes donated were eight given by 9-year-old Ryanne Bird, who raised the money by selling old toys and clothes at a series of neighborhood yard sales. Tide Dry Cleaners of Charlotte, her stepfather Shaun Garten’s employer, pitched in by offering to double her gift of eight bikes to a total of 16.

Police Officer Chris Kopp said the Christmas Project considered the girl’s effort an inspiration.

“We deal with a lot of bad stuff and we see people on their worst days,” Kopp said. “But to see this little 9-year-old step up to try and make the world a better place is amazing. We want to be part of her story.”

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Police officers knock at the door – bringing toys."