BROKEN BOW, NE – The charcoal will be lit Thursday afternoon at the Grocery Kart in Broken Bow for a Burger Bash benefit. Free will offering proceeds from the 4pm to 7pm event for a burger, chips, and drink will go to the local Santa Cop program.
Santa Cop is managed by the Custer County Salvation Army with help from the Knights of Columbus, the Broken Bow Police Department, the Custer County Sheriff’s Office, and the Nebraska State Patrol.
Each October, applications are sent to families from previous years. Those families return the names and ages of their children. The Santa Cop program then shops for age-appropriate gifts for all of the children, sets up wrapping times and asks for volunteer help, and then wrap all the gifts to be delivered by local law enforcement. Jordan Dental also donates toothbrushes and toothpaste to be included in the gift giving.
Last year, Santa Cop gave gifts to 209 children from 90 families. Normally, $25 is spent on each child. Julie Toline with Custer County Salvation Army told KCNI/KBBN that because of generous donations each child last year was able to receive a sweatshirt in addition to their gifts. Many children also received books, and a bag of household products was given to each family as well.
