Thousands of people waited in line starting as early as 3 a.m. as Prince George鈥檚 County Police held its annual Toys For Tots distribution Saturday.
Of course, the event included a visit from Santa, who pulled up in a squad car with knickknacks to give to kids who were waiting in line outside.
Inside the building, what is usually a police gymnasium had been taken over by toys. Towers of dolls and balls, row-after-row of bikes and giant columns of board games were just some of the toys on hand.
Doors opened at 8 a.m., and as long as anyone who registered ahead of time arrived by 6 p.m., they were going home with a big bag of toys.
鈥淲e have over 58,000 toys to give away today, and we鈥檙e going to make sure we give every kid as many toys as possible,鈥� Sgt. Kwesi Dadzie said.
鈥淲e鈥檒l make sure every kid today will have a toy,鈥� added Dadzie. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important because it鈥檚 not about the gifts, it鈥檚 about the effect of giving.”
Dadzie also said events like this help police reach out to the community in a positive way, and not just on someone鈥檚 worst day.
鈥淚 see people that need, and knowing that a person in uniform is there to help them, not only in the bad times, but also in the good times,鈥� he said.
After Saturday’s distribution, leftover toys will be loaded up and given to area non-profits that the department partners with for further distribution.
