by Luke Vidic
DERBY — Members of Orleans County’s Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Chapter 22 visited the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department Wednesday with an envelope in hand. Inside was a small check worth a large amount of money.
How much, exactly? The veterans wouldn’t say, but their purpose was clear. The money was a donation to the Sheriff’s Department’s annual toy drive, which has expanded to provide children with more than games and toys.
Children who get presents from the annual program now generally receive one item they want and one item they need. A Lego set and a burly winter coat, or a scooter and a backpack, for instance.
The program takes pressure off of parents, Orleans County Sheriff Jennifer Harlow said. Because of the toy drive, families don’t have to worry as much about money around the holidays.
Who gets presents and what gifts a child may receive are determined by someone at the school the child attends. This might be a teacher, nurse, or other administrator.
Whoever that person is puts together a holiday gift list which only they have access to. The names of children and families receiving gifts are not disclosed, even to the Sheriff’s Department.
The toy drive has been in place for a decade and a half, but it’s undergone some changes in that time.
“It originally started as a challenge between area law enforcement officers,” Sheriff Jennifer Harlow said. “And then it just grew and grew and grew, and now it’s community.”
Local law enforcement agencies, including Vermont State Police, Newport City Police Department, and the Border Patrol and Customs Enforcement, would compete to see which agency could corral the most money for Christmas presents. Sheriff Harlow called it a “bragging rights challenge.”
Over time, however, the competitive spirit waned, and the toy drive evolved into a collective effort, with teams of officers donating to the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department and its “Operation Santa.”
No one from the sheriff’s department or Disabled American Veterans could say if COVID would have an effect on the number of children receiving gifts this year, but Tammy Lacourse, a dispatcher with the sheriff’s department, said, “It’s a high need.”
And while no one in attendance wanted to say how much the gift was worth — because the value wasn’t the point — veterans and members of the Sheriff’s Department hinted the gift was on the high end of what the department normally gets.
If anyone asks where the gifts came from, DAV Chapter 22 Adjutant and Treasurer Ron Lavoie said to say, “It’s from Santa.”
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