Items going to children and teens served by three area organizations
From Dec. 1 through Dec. 15, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) collected “a new high” of 2,960 gifts for its annual Holiday Toy Drive, including $3,155 in gift cards, the agency has announced.
During its Eighth Annual Holiday Toy Drive, in 2024, the Sheriff’s Office collected almost 1,800 gifts, including gift cards totaling $3,935, it announced at the conclusion of that undertaking.
Sarasota County residents, local businesses and Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) members brought or shipped toys and gift cards to the agency’s headquarters to benefit children enrolled in the 12th Judicial Circuit’s Florida Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) program and two additional community partners, Sarasota Teen Court, and the All Star Children’s Foundation, a Sheriff’s Office news release notes.
“The gifts were collected at two locations this year”: the SCSO Headquarters on Cattleridge Boulevard in Sarasota and the South County Office in Venice, the release adds. The gifts are for children ranging from newborns to age 18 who reside in Sarasota, Manatee or DeSoto counties, the release points out.
On Monday, Dec. 15, the release continues, “Sarasota Teen Court and All Star Children’s Foundation sent representatives to collect the gifts needed for the children they serve.” Then, on Tuesday, Sheriff’s Office “personnel made the official delivery to the GAL offices in downtown Sarasota, where guardians will select and distribute individual gifts for children under their care,” the release notes.
“It’s always a great day at the Sheriff’s Office when we have the opportunity to collect and distribute Christmas gifts to the children in our community!” said Sheriff Kurt A. Hoffman in the release. “We are incredibly grateful for the generosity shown by our community,” he added. “Your kindness and willingness to give back make a real difference in the lives of others.”
Further, Hoffman said, “We thank the Sarasota community, our local business partners who also collected gifts, and appreciate the continued support of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Public Safety Department.”