Carson City Sheriff's Detective Steve Olson places a Barbie doll in the basket for 6-year-old Zitlalic during a past Holiday With a Hero event.
Without community support, some children in Carson City wouldn’t get a merry Christmas, according to Jessica Boggan, board member of the local nonprofit Holiday with a Hero.
“I’ve been doing this program for 16 years now,” Boggan said Monday. “Throughout the years, I’ve had several kids come say to me, ‘This is my third or fourth year, and without you guys, we wouldn’t get a Christmas.’”
HWAH will host its annual shopping event for upward of 200 Carson City School District students on Dec. 14. Each student will receive a $100 gift card.
Going into its 18th shopping season, Holiday with a Hero is hosting fundraisers in early December to help fund its mission of pairing public safety, military and medical personnel with local underprivileged children for the shopping event.
Instead of its annual holiday crawl, the HWAH team will be selling hot adult beverages at McFadden Plaza in downtown Carson in conjunction with the tree lighting ceremony 4:30 to 8 p.m. Friday.
The organization is also partnering with Bodines Casino for the Feast with a Hero fundraiser on Dec. 10 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Boggan, a bailiff at First Judicial Justice Court, will be among the law enforcement, first-responders and other emergency personnel dishing up food to those who come out to support the cause. All proceeds for the day will go HWAH, and both the Carson City Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department will have vehicles on site for families to visit.
Boggan said HWAH provides many kids in the community with a positive experience with law enforcement.
“(Showing) that we are there to help them and make sure they have the best Christmas possible,” she said.
Fellow HWAH board member Cathleen Allison revealed how the community has turned out in past years.
“As a direct result of the generosity of our community supporters, over the previous 17 shopping events, we've provided nearly $325,000 in services to local children in need,” said Allison.
For information, visit https://www.holidaywithahero.com/