Shop with Santa’s
COPS
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by Caylie Howard | photos courtesy of Town of Flower Mound
he holidays can be a challenging time for many families. Not every child is going to wake up to presents under the tree on Christmas morning. While many children’s eyes will be filled with excitement and joy from opening up the toy that they’ve wanted for weeks, other children will wake up to another normal day. The Flower Mound Police Department and the Flower Mound Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association have joined forces to help eliminate that scenario in our local community. Santa Cops is a program that collects monetary donations for the children of Flower Mound. Once all of the donations have been collected, the money donated is used to provide an opportunity for children in Flower Mound that might not have otherwise received a visit from Santa Claus on Christmas morning. The selected children for Santa Cops are provided with the unique and special opportunity to shop with a Flower Mound police officer at one of several local businesses. Alternatively, parents of the children selected are provided with the funds to purchase gifts on Santa’s behalf – if that is what they choose to do. The Santa Cops program is staffed entirely by the Flower Mound Police Department and the Flower Mound Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association. The residents of Flower Mound can get involved in the Santa Cops program in one of two ways: by donating
and by nominating Flower Mound families and children in need. How do you donate, you ask? The
easiest way to donate would be to use PayPal. You can find the PayPal link on the FMCPAAA website. You can also write a check made out to FMCPAAA or donate Visa gift cards. They also accept gift cards to Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Target, and Kohl’s. They are accepting donations through December 8th. All donations can be dropped off Monday–Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the Flower Mound Police Department’s front desk officer. You can also mail donations to FMPD ATTN: Santa Cops, 4150 Kirkpatrick Lane, Flower Mound, TX 75028. Shopping days will be scheduled with all participants before Christmas. If you know of a family that would benefit from Santa Cops this holiday season, you can complete and submit a referral form by 5 p.m. on Friday, December 3rd. You can hand in your completed referral forms at the Flower Mound Police station or send them via email. You can find and print out referral forms at FMCPAAA.org/santacops. With the help of the community of Flower Mound, the Flower Mound
10 | FLOWER MOUND TOWN LIFE | NOVEMBER 2021
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