Last
Thursday officers from Windham Police Department swarmed into Walmart armed
with baskets and a budget. Their mission was to buy Christmas presents for
children in Windham who might not have presents under the tree this year.
The
Windham Police Association raises money through fundraising drives to pay for
the gifts. Each pair of officers kept track of the money they were spending as
they loaded up their carts with bikes, Legos, iPods, Frozen toys, balls,
helmets and so much more.
“We
try to get something for every age range,” said Officer Gene Gallant, who based
his buying decisions on what his son might like.
Officer
Eric Quatrano knew all about Barbies and dolls thanks to his young daughter.
The only thing they didn’t buy…
“We
aren’t purchasing fire trucks today,” one officer said with a laugh.
Anna
Gold approached the officers and asked what they were doing. When she heard she
pulled out a $100 bill and handed it to them to help with the shopping. “You
guys put your lives on the line every day,” she said. “It’s the least I can
do.”
Terry
Bickford also felt generous and donated $50 to the cause. In between the
donations and shopping, people stopped the officers to thank them for their
work and their presence during the past week. Just before check out, Tom Mailer
from Auburn gave the officers another $20 to help with the purchase.
The
officers donated their time to shop for close to $2,000 worth of Christmas
presents, which they drove over to the Windham Social Service building to be
passed out to children in need.
The
officers who helped were Tom Hamilton, Quatrano, Lee Maher, Jim Cook, Gene
Gallant, president of the Windham Police Association Jason Burke and Justin
Hudnor.
“It’s
a blast,” said Quatrano as he pulled another toy from the shelf.
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