Through the combined efforts of Franklin Park School District 84 and the Franklin Park Police Department, Westwood College’s Criminal Justice Association in Chicago, IL was able to bring some holiday cheer to a number of local families.
Earlier in the year, Carl Cooper, Criminal Justice program chair and Franklin Park Deputy Chief Philip Ruch discussed the Santa Cops program. Ruch then contacted the school district and, with the help of Dr. David Katzin, Franklin Park School District 84 superintendent, identified 13 families in need.
On Dec. 10, the Chicago O’Hare Airport campus turned into Santa’s workshop, hosting a toy-drive that was open to the campus and the community. An unwrapped gift or a $5 donation was requested for entry to the event. Guests enjoyed treats, face painting, crafts, letters to Santa, and pictures with Santa himself (played by Westwood Construction Management instructor Jeff Karlberg).
The toy drive allowed the Criminal Justice Association to collect enough toys to provide gifts for all of the families identified by the school district. The event was extremely successful, with more than 150 toys collected, allowing for three or four toys to be gift wrapped and provided to each child. The extra toys were donated to the WGN TV toy drive.
The weekend prior to Christmas, members of the Criminal Justice Association and Karlberg met with officersfrom the police department to deliver the gifts to each home.
“This is our first year working with the Franklin Park Police Department through the Santa Cops Program and we found it to be an extremely rewarding experience,” said Cooper.
The students said they enjoyed working with the officers and seeing the results of their efforts.
Cooper summed up the experience as “an opportunity for us to show the community that criminal justice is not just about locking up criminals, it’s about helping the community we serve. We look forward to being involved in the Santa Cops program again next year!”