COUNTYWIDE : Helicopter Santa Brings Toys, Cheer

To the delight of cheering and waving youngsters, Santa arrived Monday at Orangewood Children’s Home in a black helicopter flown by the aero unit of the Huntington Beach Police Department.

“Ho! Ho! Ho! Santa’s here,” announced Officer J.B. Hume on the copter’s public address system as it circled the area where the children had crowded to greet him.

Santa came to this home for abused children to give away toys donated by students at 15 schools in the Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Westminster school districts. The gifts were collected by Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley police through their Drug Abuse Resistance Education programs.

Huntington Beach Officer Steve Balloch, who traveled to the different schools to collect the gifts, said: “My back seat was filled with toys. I felt like Santa Claus myself.”

The toys were brought to Orangewood last week and wrapped by older children at the home, said Sheryl Vito, Community Programs Specialist. The home has 132 children, from two days old to 18 years, who have been neglected, abused, or abandoned, she said. The average stay is about a month.

Many of the children who come to Orangewood are brought there by police officers, said Susan Patton, a Fountain Valley volunteer who originated the idea of using the police helicopter. Events like this, she said, help children “see that policemen are fun people.”

Instead of his customary navy blue, Hume wore a Santa outfit complete with flowing white hair. Hume briefly greeted the children after the copter landed and later talked to them one-on-one in the gym.

Inside the gym, the children were presented with gifts by two elves who stood to each side of Santa. They pulled gifts from boxes of toys divided by age groups.

Some children were embarrassed and shy about sitting on Santa’s lap, while others were eager. Still others were busy sizing up the gifts.

“I want the big one on the bottom,” said one boy waiting in line. “I saw it first,” retorted another.

After one group had seen Santa, Vito gathered them for a message.

“Kids your same age gave you these gifts,” Vito told them. “Remember Christmas is about giving, not receiving.”

“It’s really neat to watch the kids” play with their gifts, said Lt. Ed McErlain of the Huntington Beach Police Department said.

McErlain said the participation of children in DARE programs allows them “to share with people less fortunate than them. The kids here see people who are concerned about them.”

Later Monday, the children were treated to a lunch catered by the Anaheim-based Calico Cafe and ice cream provided by Ben and Jerry’s. On Friday, those who don’t go home will get to go bowling.

Vito said some of the children will get special releases from the home on Christmas Day. Others will be able to call their families or have visits from family members. However, she said, “it’s up to us to make Christmas bright and to cheer them up.”