Catt. County Sheriffs Spread Holiday Cheer Through the Santa Sheriff Program
Cattaraugus County Sheriffs Spread Holiday Cheer Through the Santa Sheriff Program
photo/cattfoundation.org (2019)
Did you know the concept of sheriffs predates our Constitution? The first recorded position in the U.S. was in 1660. Sheriffs and their jurisdictions are typically found in the rural corners of our counties. The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s motto is: “Professional, Responsive, Progressive Policing for Our Rural Communities.”
Our local sheriffs do more than just policing ...
With cooler temps setting in and everyone busy “re-imagining” the holidays, the Santa Sheriffs are gearing up for their busiest year in a long time. The Santa Sheriff Program is a coalition of sheriffs, school resource officers and office employees. Together, with the help of the Cattaraugus County Benevolent Association (CCBA), they raise money and then with that money, spend countless hours of their free time to shop, wrap and deliver presents to those in need.
Catching up with Lt. Melanie Churakos, she gave insight on their efforts. “Once again we counted on our school resource officers to pick the families that we are helping. These SRO’s are in the schools daily and have personal connections with many of the families on the list,” she said.
According to Lt. Churakos, the number of families this year has nearly doubled since 2018. “We are helping about 70 children this year. Fundraising was a challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are aware that the need could be worse,” she said. “We were not able to hold a fundraiser like we typically do for the Santa Sheriff Program, but I am sure that with COVID slowing or shutting down some people’s wages, many may be struggling to make donations like they have done in the past.”
Along with the Santa Sheriff Program, there are other efforts that the Sheriff’s Office and CCBA support … “whatever cause that one of our employees requests, that the rest of the members vote on and agree with ... illness, death, serious accidents, etc.,” Lt. Churakos stated. “Our members consist of every person that works at the office. We support people who are in crisis or have a cause that they are acting on.”
Churakos spoke constantly to this “silver-lining” mentality which got me thinking. In our own county, there are children and families that never really had those traditions and institutions we are all yearning to keep intact this year. With the holidays just around the corner and everyone stressing about what we “can’t have or can’t do,” let’s rally around the giving spirit that the season brings. Let us - as a community - take a look at what we still have and how we can give to those in need.
Those interested in making a donation to the Santa Sheriff Program can do so by contacting the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation (CRCF) of Olean at 716-301-2723. Direct donations can be made on CRCF’s website (cattfoundation.org, search Santa Sheriff Fund), or by sending a check to the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office, 301 Court St, Little Valley, NY 14755, Attn: Santa Sheriff Program.