Thank You Cops and Kids!

Dear North Ridgeville Community,

I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone from the district who donated and/or helped Frank and I put together a list of kids from the district we took shopping on Saturday. It was a little different this year and we had some transition, but the kids experience remained the same! Avon P. D. coordinated and hosted the event this year. Ptlm. Trampush took over coordinating for North Ridgeville P. D., with very little assistance from me. We partnered up with Lorain County agencies, Avon, Avon Lake, Sheffield Village and the Lorain County Sheriff’s Dept.

With the help of your generosity we were able to take 20 kids to this years event. My wife Karen and I had the privilege of taking a brother, 5 year old Soel, his sister, 6 year old Mayra, and their cousin, 12 year old Brayan. Soel, Mayra and Brayan are from Guatemala and speak very little English. Your very own Gary Minich, a Spanish teacher at the high school, was gracious enough and volunteered his time to assist us with communicating with the kids and their parents. Thanks Gary!

This event is a lot of work behind the scenes, but in the end it is all worth it when you see the look on all the kids faces. Soel, Mayra and Brayan were very thoughtful and bought gifts for other family members. Gary told us that Brayan’s father, who was still back in Guatemala died and he has several sisters there. Brayan used a lot of his money to purchase baby dolls for his younger sisters back in Guatemala. Every year there are so many stories like this and more that I could share with you all. It is always a very humbling experience to say the least.

I am always reminded of the generosity of others and my own mother’s story. My mom grew up in the inner city of Pittsburgh and never really had much. She told me for Christmas they would go to the Salvation Army every year to receive their one Christmas gift. Their generosity always stuck with my mom. When I was growing up I always saw my parents being generous to other organizations, especially during the Christmas season. They never advertised or boasted about it they just set a wonderful example and did it. When I was older and my mom finally shared with me the story about receiving that one gift, every Christmas from the Salvation Army, it all made sense to me.

So I want to thank you all and may you all have a Blessed Christmas and Holiday Season!

Calvin and Karen Cross AND North Ridgeville Police Department