TYLER (KYTX) - Christmas came early for a special group of East Texas children Wednesday. Santa dropped into Tyler and made a special delivery to a group of foster children. CBS 19's Amanda Roberson was there as the man in the red suit rolled up and explains why it's special for both the children and the Tyler Police Department.
Tyler Police have been teaming up with the Bair Foundation and giving bikes to foster children for five years now. It's the biggest gift of the year for many of these children and Santa wasn't shy making his early delivery.
He rolled into the Bancorp South parking lot in a Tyler PD SWAT Van, with his sleigh of brand new bikes following. 44 bikes were given to the Bair Foundation, which places foster children in East Texas homes. Children of all ages received new bikes, and for many of them this is their first bike.
From physical abuse to drug use to neglect, these children come from broken homes so they may have dealt with officers before during some scary situations. But this day is meant to change that perception.
"Most of these kids have been removed from a family situation for various reasons and the only time they see law enforcement is when they're being removed,"Sergeant David Hall explained. "It gives us a chance to give back and let the kids know we're there for them so they don't have the fear of law enforcement."
"The fact that law enforcement is caring for them, loving on them and hugging them and is bringing them something they've never had before is a great opportunity for these kids," added Rebekah Happle from the Bair Foundation.
"They didn't know we were coming," said foster parent Regina Simmons. "They didn't know what they were getting but when they came around the corner with bikes they were like 'BIKES! WE GET BIKES!' really excited. My group is very happy and very excited so I imagine we'll be riding bikes as soon as we get to the house."
And safety first, of course, Tyler Police also gave each child a new, fitted helmet.
Tyler Police started the program with the bike team raising money for Bair foster children. The entire department joined in the following year, and now Bancorp South helps Tyler PD raise money to buy the bikes.
While it's easy to see the kids enjoy the bikes, the foster parents appreciate it too. Most of the foster parents take care of about four foster children at a time and that's a lot of expense when it comes to gifts.
The Bair Foundation reimburses foster parents, but that basically covers the cost of meals, so this is much appreciated way to help with the expense of Christmas.
Tyler Police says it's looking forward to continuing the program next year - for more information on how you can get involved visit http://www.cityoftyler.org/?TabId=98.
