Manny Alvarez worked a lot of tough cases in his 30-year career with the Denver Police Department, but a highlight was starting the Christmas Crusade for Children.
“It was one of the best things I ever did,” said Alvarez, now retired and living in Pueblo.
This program includes 30 law enforcement agencies in metro Denver — including the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Northglenn Police Department — that each year transform into “Santa Cops” who make sure struggling kids get gifts for the holiday.
So far, the Christmas Crusade has helped more than 190,000 kids. Saturday, the Evergreen Rodeo Association joined in that effort by hosting a parade featuring sponsors of the children on horseback to raise funds for the program.
It all started in the early 1980s when one of Alvarez’s friends at KBRQ radio told him about a similar program in Wichita.
“Two officers were working in a mall when a 13-year-old girl came up and asked them where she could get a job, because she wanted to buy a Christmas present for her brother,” Alvarez said. “They bought her some toys, word got out, and all of a sudden citizens started sending money to police officers.”
Inspired, Alvarez and his friend decided to try it in Denver and launched the Christmas Crusade at KBRQ in 1983.
“We put it out on the airwaves, something like ‘Little Johnny was 7 years old with one parent, and he wants a football.’ Other police officers were riding around listening to the program, they’d call and say, ‘I got some kids in my area, can we join?’ “
The phone lines lit up.
“It got out of hand,” Alvarez said.
He and a few other offices slept on Army cots at the radio station, answering calls in shifts.
Nearly three decades later, the program — now run through KYGO radio — is still going strong.
“One reason it’s so successful is that people who are donating have a high level of trust that comes with knowing a police officer has submitted a child’s name, so it’s not fraudulent,” said Lt. Matt Murray, spokesman for the Denver Police Department. “We’re constantly running across needy kids.”
Officers nominate kids they’ve met while on the job. The names are entered into the Christmas Crusade computer system, and KYGO on-air personalities talk about each child — using first names, gender and ages only — to solicit pledges of new, unwrapped toys.
Listeners call the Christmas Crusade hotline, but money also comes from walk-ins.
“You’d be surprised how many people walk into headquarters to give two $100 bills, or sometimes a check for $1,000,” said Ron Picasso, a spokesman for the Christmas Crusade.
On shopping day, he said, “every department sends vans and squad cars to the toy store. We give lists of names to each officer, and they go buck wild.”
The gifts are brought back to Crusade headquarters, where they are bagged, and then given to the child’s nominating officer to personally deliver.
“For us, one of the greatest benefits is that these kids get to have a positive interaction with police officers,” Murray said. “Showing up with a gift means you’re not always the bad guy.”
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
