November 28, 2018

Blue Santas working to make the holiday season merrier

Blue Santas working to make the holiday season merrier

By Ashleigh Plemper
Farmer Staff Writer

Don’t be surprised this Christmas season if you see a Watford City police officer bagging groceries at the Cash Wise grocery store in Watford City. Their grocery bagging is just one of the many projects sponsored by the Watford City Police Foundation with the goal of helping children in need at Christmastime.
“Year-round, we can receive donations for families who are going through particular hardships that may not have the means to provide the best Christmas possible for their children,” says Sgt. Matthew Walsh, Public Outreach officer.
The Blue Santas project started as an idea by then Watford City Police Officer Kyle Kienholz in 2015 after he created another foundation for children in need in the town where he worked as a police officer. For him, it only made sense to bring the program to Watford City.
“We’ve done the grocery bagging for the last few weeks,” says Walsh. “We usually do it through the months of November and December.”
According to Walsh, police officers are generally busy volunteering their time bagging groceries from 5 to 7 p.m. on various days throughout the week.

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WATFORD CITY WEATHER