Pueblo police pass out Christmas presents to every elementary student in town

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- One toy for every kid in Pueblo; it's an ambitious goal, but the Pueblo Police Department Student Resource Officers are working with Toys for Tots to make that goal a reality this Christmas.

All this week, Santa could be seen rolling up to every elementary school throughout District 60 in a brand new sleigh (it was actually a SWAT truck filled with presents.)

The ride might be different but the job is the same, bring Christmas joy to all the good girls and boys.

Officers are delivering 7,300 toys to 7,300 kids, one toy for every elementary and Pre K student in District 60.

“To hear that every child is gonna get a gift is really shocking," said Sandra Alvarez, the Principal at Bradford Elementary. "We are a school that boasts of high community involvement but we are high poverty as well. We know that every year we start to see this time of year our kids start to act up. A little fearful about how maybe Christmas won’t be all they want it to be. So this is really phenomenal.”

However, the kids aren’t the only ones receiving high-quality gifts today. The officers passing out gifts say they are also receiving gifts from the students as well.

“A lot of the principals that say we are making the kids day, it’s just the opposite, those kids are making our day,” said Sgt. Dennis Furbush with the Pueblo Police Department. “Yesterday, the kids took all of their Walkie-Talkies home and thought they can talk from all of their houses. So they were all excited to go home. It has been a very positive experience.”

This is the first year the Pueblo Police Department has ever attempted a toy drive at this large of a scale. The officers involved say they have already begun plans to make sure next year's toy drive is even better.