Chatham-Kent's ninth Holiday with a Hero event has wrapped up, and it was a great success.
Fifty-five kids took part in the program this year.
OPP Provincial Constable Jay Denorer, a board member of Holiday with a Hero, explained that the program began with the idea of changing the perspective of kids who may view first responders in a negative way.
"The idea was to bring in kids who are underprivileged, in the sense that they've faced traumatic situations throughout the course of the year, and they would see first responders in a - I want to say - a negative or a bad light," Denorer shared. "We wanted to show them that we're people as well, and that we can just come out and have fun."
He explained that the participating kids get to go shopping for Christmas presents, and while the urge to give may sometimes be stronger, they have to buy themselves a present with the money they receive.
"What we do is we give the kids their giftcards for Walmart. One stipulation is you have to buy a present for yourself. The kids will then run out and they buy presents for their brothers, sisters, their parents, other people as well," he said.
Denorer added that there have been occasions in which the kids even buy gifts for the first responder they're with.
"When you see that the kids are thinking more of everybody else, (asking) 'how can I help everybody else?' rather than have a gift for myself... that really brings the emotions to the event itself," he noted. "It does, for the seasoned veterans, bring a tear to your eye when you actually see that you're giving back and helping out."
He also noted that multiple services are involved with the program.
"We have CKPS, so Chatham-Kent Police Service, Chatham-Kent Fire. We have Ontario Parks, the Ministry of Natural Resources. We have animal control... and then we have EMS, the paramedic service here in town," Denorer said.
The tenth year of the program is expected to be bigger and better.
"The committee is going to be expanded, and we're bringing on a lot of community volunteers who really want to give back," Denorer shared.
He adds that anyone who wants to take part in a future Holiday with a Hero event can sign up to be a volunteer or a sponsor at holidaywithahero.ca.
