CMPD delivered gifts to nearly 1,700 kids across Charlotte ahead of Christmas
When Santa Claus climbed down the chimneys of some Charlotte homes to deliver gifts on Christmas Eve, he may have found he was beaten to the punch by almost a week by the city’s police department.
For the last 50 years, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Explorers Christmas Project has delivered gifts to kids of all ages ahead of Christmas — a tradition that continued on Dec. 19.
It’s “my favorite day,” said Ryan Botzenmayer, CMPD’s youth program coordinator who has been running the project for 10 years. “Taking the items to the families, seeing the joy, seeing the love, seeing them excited that CMPD is coming — they’re not expecting us — and they see that we’re there for a good reason, and it’s awesome.”
Botzenmayer said the program is funded by donations and was on track to deliver gifts to nearly 1,700 kids across 600 households this year. It’s a significant leap in growth from 1974, when the program started at Quail Hollow Country Club when now-retired Deputy Chief Glen Mowrey held a toy drive and got enough toys for 15 families.
At a press event held before officers began deliveries, which featured Chief Johnny Jennings, Botzenmayer said the department had over 10,000 toys this year. A nonprofit, The Spokes Group, raised enough money for almost 800 bicycles, and CMPD gets some of those bikes to give as gifts, he said.
Jennings said the department has given gifts to nearly 87,000 children in total since the program was started, and about 35,000 families.
“That’s just amazing to see,” he said. “How the impact that our community has on people and those who are less fortunate than we are.”
Other nonprofits helped with toy drives or donated money to help police purchase gifts or make sure families get a holiday meal, Botzenmayer said.
Quail Hollow is still a partner, he said, as well as The Salvation Army, which shared a warehouse with the department in south Charlotte, just off of South Boulevard. The Salvation Army filled bags with gifts and gave them to families waiting just outside in line.
Botzenmayer said he appreciates the collaborative spirit between the department and other organizations, as well as the volunteers who help. Many, including his daughter, have been longtime volunteers, he said.
At the warehouse on Dec. 18, the day before delivery day, Botzenmayer, officers, and volunteers scrambled to fill bags.
The bags were labeled with a Christmas-themed version of the department’s logo.
Tables and containers on the CMPD side of the warehouse overflowed with toys, games and collectibles. Botzenmayer said they called the area “toyland.” Volunteers “shop” and place the items into the bags and then stack them next to each other near rows of bicycles of different sizes.
Botzenmayer said many households were referred by officers who met families while responding to calls. Others, he said, were past participants or reached out after hearing about the program. Families who are referred submit wish lists from their children.
Deliveries were planned through Christmas Eve. And the department also delivered some gifts to Western North Carolina.
Officers have gone to Walmart in the last couple of weeks to try to fulfill wish list requests.
“Police officers, we respond to crises every day, and this is us showing up in a different capacity,” Botzenmayer said. “It’s bringing joy to that family, and not during a crisis.”
Officer Francis Auayang has been participating in the Explorer’s Christmas Project since he was 14 and a member of the department’s high school explorer’s program, he said.
Although he didn’t help deliver this year, instead staying back and assisting at the warehouse, it’s still his favorite part of the program. One of his favorite memories was on delivery day when a mother cried after seeing the gifts, he said.
“Just to see that somebody in the general public is seeing a police officer and crying for a happy reason brought a lot of joy,” Auayang said.
