JEFFERSON COUNTY, ILLINOIS (WSIL) --The holiday comes early for cops and firefighters in the county.Ìý
Christmas for First Responders took place at the Rolland Lewis building Wednesday morning where law enforcement and fire crews received some gifts including Christmas cards and fruit baskets.Ìý
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One person to receive the kind gesture is Sheriff Jeff Bullard who shared the meaning behind it all.Ìý
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"It's important to live in a community where the people show a continuing support for the first responders," he says. "Passing that onto the next generation of youth.. is critically important."Ìý
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Students from throughout the county, ranging from elementary through highÌýschool, have been working like little elves to finish more than 2,000 handmade cards
Each local hero gets a bundle of about ten cards, along with a fruit basket from Cusumano and Sons filled with oranges, apples and grapefruits.
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Tony, Lance, and Rex Cusumano deliver the fresh fruit and believe it's an honor to give back to those who put their life on the line each day.Ìý
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"It's always nice to give back to these first responders because they have our backs all the time," Tony says.Ìý
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No funds are taken from the city to make this happen. The whole program is donation based from residents and businesses.Ìý
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Rhonda Wooden, who is an organizer of the program, says people are happy to give to such a good cause.Ìý
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"All were excited to get with this program and show the law enforcement officers and the firefighters in Jefferson County," she explains about the donors reaction to giving. "You're with us 356 days a year. We want to show you we respect what you do."
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Originally, gifts and cards were sent to military members, who were from Jefferson County and deployed to the Middle East.Ìý
David Keen, another organizer of the event says, as operations overseas started to cease, the program focused on law enforcement and became Christmas for Cops.Ìý
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"We did about 80 of these fruit baskets and cards for our sheriff's department and the Mt. Vernon police department," he states.Ìý
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This holiday season, enough funds were raised to expand the program to state troopers in the area as well as all firefighters. Now becoming the Christmas for First Responders program and giving back to 231 personnel.Ìý
Fire Chief Kevin Sergeant says his crew are looking forward to the messages from the kiddos.Ìý
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"We're excited to read the cards and see what the kids put because out of the mouth of babes," he adds. "Kids always put funny stuff in there, so that's really exciting. We're glad to be a part of it, and appreciate all the efforts of everybody involved in this."Ìý