Spokane Police deliver gifts to families in need

Dec. 21—Spokane police officers are playing the role of Santa's helpers this week as they hand deliver presents to families in need.

A group of officers and volunteers from Les Schwab Tire Center unloaded a trailer with bags full of toys, food and household supplies Thursday afternoon at a home in north Spokane.

Danielle Luttrell, a mother of five children, said she was overwhelmed and grateful.

"I didn't expect anything like this," she said.

The children, Danyka, Daykota, Kaylei, Krystina and Vyktoria hugged the officers and told them, "Merry Christmas!"

The annual Adopt-a-Family program led by the police department's community outreach team with support from the Spokane Police Foundation, Les Schwab Tire Center and other community partners, is supporting 20 families this year.

Patrolmen identify families that could use some extra help while they are on patrol in the community.

They follow up with the families and community outreach officer Jen Kerns works with the parents to build a wish list.

"The parents always say, 'I don't need anything, I just want to make sure the kids have gifts under the Christmas tree,' " Kerns said.

Les Schwab team members and volunteers help wrap all the presents.

It is gratifying to see how touched the families are by it, Kerns said. Often, the parents will cry.

"We normally only go into homes in really detrimental situations, so to be able to go in homes and make their day is awesome," Kerns said. "It makes all the work worth it."

James Hanlon's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.