MANTECA, Calif. — Christmas is just five days away, and many people are looking forward to spending time with family and exchanging gifts. However, for some people, it's been hard to just make ends meet.
Luckily, Manteca Police Department has stepped in to make Christmas wishes come true for dozens of families.
Community Officer Mike Kelly takes it upon himself each year to ensure Christmas wishes come true. It's a collaborative effort with his colleagues that started nearly 15 years ago. This year, more than a dozen households were sponsored.
"I believe that nobody should go without. These kids are kids. They're innocent," said Kelly.
"Our detective unit, they took in several kids, our code enforcement took in a bunch of kids, our dispatchers took in a bunch of kids and several officers took in kids by themselves," he added.
Tuesday morning, Kelly was joined by his fellow officers and staff members who contributed to the cause, driving from block to block with Santa Claus. They passed out presents to 14 homes, brightening the holidays for 29 children.
Some members of the ABC10 team also pitched in to sponsor one of the families and tagged along to hand out gifts, which included toys, clothes and a bike.
For Kelly, seeing smiles and pure emotions of joy from the families served makes it all worthwhile. He said the support from the community over the years to make this happen has been overwhelming.
"I'm beyond grateful with our department and our team," said Kelly said.
"The motivation is just to do the right thing and be a good person in life. We're all sent here for a reason to do something," he added.
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