Santa Claus and the NYPD teamed up on Staten Island Monday to help bring the spirit of Christmas to children in need.
Jolly Old St. Nick, with the assistance of New York’s Finest, traveled all the way from the North Pole on Dec. 11 to NYPD’s Highway Patrol 5 headquarters, located at 2320 Hylan Blvd., where he helped cops load the back of a police van with boxes upon boxes of gifts.
But while Santa brought the magic normally reserved for Christmas night, the police brought the gifts for this pre-Christmas celebration.
Each year, Highway Patrol 5 members pool their money together and buy holiday gifts for the children enrolled at the Seton Foundation for the Learning, a school serving children with special needs. It’s been a unit tradition for 11 consecutive years as part of an effort to give back to the community they serve — and a tradition they hope to continue for years to come.
It all began when the cops decided to pay a special visit in 2012 to surprise the son of an officer who had been attending the school. The reception they received melted their hearts, prompting them to return each year rain or shine.
“I knew at that very moment [of the first visit] that we needed to do this every year. So here we are, 11 years later, I made a promise to them that we’ll be back,” said Lieutenant Joseph Bell, commanding officer of Highway 5, Lieutenant Joseph Bell said. “This marks the beginning of the holiday season.”
For one unit member, Detective Tommy Cerbone, it is all about giving back and brightening up the season for children with special needs.
“It’s very important to give back to the community. I wanted to pay it forward and I thought what better gift for the holiday season than special needs children meeting Santa, receiving gifts and putting a smile on their face,” Cerbone said. “This is what’s most important to us every holiday season. I only have a short time left on this job, but these hard-working officers will carry this on a long time after I’m gone.”
Santa Claus got the full celebrity treatment during the visit Monday; instead of coming in on “a sleigh with eight tiny reindeer,” he got a full escort from 11 Highway Patrol officers. The crowd of excited students from pre-kindergarten to 8th grade waited outside jumping up and down, rocking back and forth, and clapping their hands — unable to contain their excitement as the festive motorcade rolled up.
One young lad named Owen was so overwhelmed he leapt into the arms of a cop, causing the officer to well with tears.
“I am not such a tough guy now,” the patrolman remarked.
When the festivities moved inside, Santa and his officer friends greeted each child, putting smiles on their faces as they handed gift after gift. The youngsters laughed with parents and school staff while tearing at wrapping paper to reveal dolls, action figures, toy cars, and more.
“This is such an important experience for our children and our families. A lot of times our students just can’t go out to the mall, It’s too overstimulating. There’s too much going on, and they can’t be out in the community that way,” Principal of Seton Foundation for the Learning Diane Taranto said. “We love this experience year after year.”
The trip did not end there.
Santa and the Highway Patrol followed up the school stop with a special home visit to a young boy battling cancer, not only showering him with gifts but also letting him sit atop one of the motorcycles.
“It’s just amazing how everyone in the community comes together to make him happy,” said the youngster’s mother, Theresa McMillan.
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