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SF Police spread holiday joy to children admitted to hospital
Santa greeted families and officers waved at young patients and their families in their rooms at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. The caravan also stopped by Family House, a nonprofit that provides housing and services for families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco police officers suited up on Monday to spread holiday cheer to children who will be spending Christmas away from their homes. It's a longtime tradition that officers say always feels rewarding.
Police lights and sirens lit up Mission Bay, as a caravan of officers from SFPD, CHP, and UCSF joined forces and made two very special stops. SFPD also decorated one of its trucks, which played holiday music as it cruised through the neighborhood.
Santa himself greeted families and officers waved at young patients and their families in their rooms at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Officers also met families outside.
"I was sitting out here waiting for my son's test, on the bench, and I heard ambulances and I asked my son 'what's going on, is that an ambulance?' He said 'I don't know, it's a whole SWAT team, and then, no look! it's Santa,'" said Choya Murphy of Sacramento. "And they got out and started waving to all the kids up here, and I just thought it was so beautiful."
SFPD collected about 900 toys that were mostly all dropped off in the last week to children who have been admitted to the hospital.
On Monday, the caravan also spread cheer at Family House, a nonprofit that provides housing and services for families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
"We have a sibling that's in the hospital right now ,so we're kind of separated, but I'm glad she's not missing out," said Jessica Lopez of Gilroy. "This means the world to us that she's able to see this and the excitement on her face to see Santa and the PD doing this for all the kids."
49ers Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott also teamed with SFPD for a special visit to Family House, where they delivered most of the gifts.
Samantha Smothermon, who lives in the Central Valley, has spent the last six months at Family House, while her other child is being cared for at UCSF.
Her 3-year-old son Maddox enjoyed his slime present.
"It's not a traditional Christmas for us this year, it's a lot different, so it was really great for him to experience and see Santa, someone we've been talking about all season," she said.
Hardeep Arciniega's niece was born on Monday with heart problems. He came to UCSF to support his brother, who saw the spectacle from the hospital room above.
"He was a little sad that he won't be with us, but I think this showed a little bit of love, knowing that the city actually cares about people in this hospital," he said.
"We have a wonderful community engagement division that works really hard to send that message out every day, not just the holidays," said SFPD's Acting Assistant Chief Peter Walsh. "This is Christmas, and it's a special time of year, so we just want that extra emphasis - that we are here in good times and to be helpful."