Santa Cop program brings meals, gifts to Valley seniors

PALMER — Over the years, the Santa Cop program has grown incrementally and this year is no different.

Whereas last year the program stuck mostly to the Valley’s core Palmer-Wasilla area, this year it’s branching out to include Talkeetna, Willow and Sutton.

This year Santa Cop held a fund-raiser at the Palmer Train Depot. But Investigator Donna Anthony who heads the program, said the program outgrew the depot in the fund-raiser’s first year.

“We’re actually going to have to move it to Raven Hall because we already filled it up the first year,” she said.

The program may have outgrown its name, too, she said, since the roster of people bringing gifts to seniors now includes police, fire and emergency medical departments.

And while it was once just a nice thing Palmer cops did at Christmas, now Santa Cop operates as its own charitable organization, under the umbrella of the Palmer Senior Center.

The proof of its growth is in the numbers. The program brought gifts, a warm meal and gift cards to 147 seniors last year. As early as 2007 that number was just 20.

A gift wrapping party is from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday at the Wasilla Senior Center. Everyone is invited to bring a dish and help wrap gifts for Valley seniors.

But Santa Cop has always delivered more than just presents. Seniors without anybody to share the holidays with were often overwhelmed to have someone to sit and visit with, Anthony said.

Police showing up to spread cheer also come across medical emergencies or life-safety issues, such as a senior living without heat and a landlord who needed a good talking to, she said.

Last year saw an unprecedented example of that when Anthony put together a team of contractors and community minded volunteers to help a senior they came across who was living in a log home with multiple life-safety issues. That effort continued into the summer, she said.

The senior who was the recipient of that help is now living in a renovated trailer home and making the rounds on behalf of the program, telling community organizations of the good work it does.

People who want to donate to the program can bring things seniors might need or like — Santa Cop usually looks for things like socks, puzzles, blankest, hats, gloves and pet supplies — to the Wasilla or Palmer police departments or the Palmer or Wasilla senior’s center. Anyone with time to donate can stop by to wrap gifts at the Wasilla Senior Center this Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.

As Santa Cop matures and blossoms into its own organization, Anthony said it might soon be a model program adopted by other police departments outside of the Valley.

“I think in Washington a couple of the chiefs there are looking at our model and it’s my hope this might eventually expand down into the states,” Anthony said.

For more information about Santa Cop, visit www.matsusantacop.org.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.