Thank You: Holidays and Heroes A Magical Success

The Post Falls Police Department, on behalf of all participating agencies, extends our gratitude to everyone that helped make our 18th annual Holidays & Heroes event a magical success on December 11, 2016.

With shopping lists ready, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and firefighters were paired with specially-selected local children and took them shopping at Walmart stores to purchase Christmas gifts for their family members. Other volunteer shoppers secretly chose gifts for the children.

Event organizers chose participant’s names based upon recommendations from school resource officers, school counselors, patrol officers, deputy sheriffs, and firefighters to help make Christmas a little brighter for children in need.

Law enforcement and emergency service agencies from Kootenai and Spokane counties, along with numerous group and individual volunteers and sponsors, provided a festive and joyous holiday experience to one hundred children throughout our community.

After everyone finished shopping and bags were loaded into patrol cars, they met at the Greyhound Park and Event Center in Post Falls where more activities awaited the children. Volunteers wrapped all the gifts. Children decorated an ornament, took pictures with Santa, and ate lunch. Children continued to shop. There were stacks of handmade quilts for each child to select. There was also a table filled with free toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other goodies. In addition, each child brought home a turkey dinner food box.

Holidays & Heroes continues to be an exceptional event each year because of the dedicated officers and their family members, volunteers, and sponsors who so generously give of their time and resources to bring joy into the lives of as many children as possible. Thank you to all of our partners. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sincerely,
Charlene Holbrook
PFPD – Event Coordinator

Thank you to the staff and family members from the following agencies:
Coeur d’Alene Police Department
Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police
Idaho State Police
Kootenai County Adult Probation & Parole
Kootenai County Fire & Rescue IAFF Local 2856
Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office
Life Flight Network
Post Falls Police Department
Rathdrum Police Department
Spirit Lake Police Department
Spokane County Sheriff’s Department
Spokane Valley Police

Thank you to the following commercial organizations:
Alpine Bark & Blowing & Hydroseed
American Eagle Automotive
Barney’s Harvest Foods
Coeur d’ Alene Casino
Curtis Orthodontics
DMV Licensing
Ekness Catering
Findlay Nissan
Franz Bakery
Greyhound Park & Event Center
Horizon Credit Union
Idaho Central Credit Union
J & DA Holdings, LLC
Knudtsen Chevrolet
Little Smiles Dentist of Post Falls
Midway Automotive Group
Midway, Chrysler, Jeep
Miller’s Food
Nate’s New York Pizza
Numerica Credit Union
Optima Dental Care
Papa Murphy’s Pizza
Post Falls Brewing Company
Precision Dental of Post Falls
R & C Tree Service (in memory of John)
Rathdrum Power, LLC
Spokane Federal Credit Union
Starbucks (Post Falls)
URM Food Service
Walgreens (Coeur d’ Alene)
Walmart (Hayden, Post Falls, Spokane Valley)

Thank you to the following group organizations:
Boy Scout Troop 213
Cub Scout Pack 220
Girl Scout Troop 2035
Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Volunteer Search & Rescue
Local Chapter of the Order of the Arrow Koobensho
Post Falls High School Boys JV and Varsity Basketball Teams
Post Falls High School Key Club
Rotary of Post Falls
Spokane Valley Sheriff’s Explorers
Spokane County Deputies Association
Venture
Washington Education Association (Eastern Washington)

Thank you to our private sponsors and individual volunteers:
Shirley Bade
Merte Barth TTEE
Michelle Blackstone
Dave Chapman
Ward Crawford
Eidson’s Family
Debera Gambles
Mary Carolyn Gouin
Grainger Family
Owen Grider
Debbie Holmes
Ron and Susan Jacobson
Bob & Bonnie Kesson
Patty Labrum
Harry J. Lien
Mr. & Mrs. Warren Merritt
Lonnie Middleton
Jenna Miller
Hope Newman
Jacqueline Panza
Morris & Carol Prosser
Dr. James J. Psomas
Dick & Jean Schmidt
Brian Thurlow
John Weber
Linda Wilhelm
Tracy Williams
Esther Woodward
Carol Yost

For anyone we may have missed, our sincere apologies. Several hundred people make this event possible, and we greatly appreciate everyone’s contribution to Holidays & Heroes. Thank you!

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