SYLMAR : Police Direct Distribution of Food, Gifts

Elizabeth Ronge is no stranger to the concept of sharing. Ronge, 15, shares a bedroom with five sisters in her family’s Palmdale home. She and her 10 siblings jostle regularly for spaces around the family’s supper table.

But on Wednesday, Ronge chose to share some of her holiday vacation time with others.

The Palmdale High School sophomore and several friends packed Elmo, Power Rangers, puzzles and plastic bats into large trash sacks as part of an annual holiday giveaway by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division.

“I’ve struggled through times when my parents didn’t have enough. Because we’ve gotten things from people, it feels good to give to others,” Ronge said.

The event, which began 13 years ago with four turkeys, has mushroomed into a community effort that relies on donations from residents and local food stores and businesses.

This holiday season, Foothill Division officers will deliver more than 650 bags overflowing with Cocoa Krispies, Top Ramen noodles, chickens and potatoes, among other foodstuffs, to needy families in the northeast Valley.

Officers set up shop this week in a deserted warehouse in Sylmar, where paper sacks divided into groups for each charity huddled between blue tape lining the floor.

Volunteers working for organizations as diverse as the Lions Club and the San Fernando Police Karate Club visited the warehouse Wednesday morning to pick up donations.

Officers and volunteers deliver the rest of the bags themselves.

Many families who belong to the Calvary Baptist Church in Pacoima would not have a Christmas dinner or be able to give toys to their children if it weren’t for the Foothill Division’s donations, said Elizabeth Mitchell, a church volunteer.

Although donations were down this year because the Northridge earthquake hamstrung many businesses, organizers focused on bringing help not only to families, but to the elderly, said Officer Don Blanken, event organizer.

“I’ve experienced many emotions doing this. I get to see a child who is very excited to get a toy for Christmas, and then a senior who cries when they get food for a holiday dinner,” Blanken said.

Foothill Division officers got into the Christmas spirit during the drive. One officer even became an amateur Santa Claus when donation recipients didn’t answer their front door.

Officer Manuel Valladares delivered a box of goodies to a house where no one was home, carefully attaching a business card carrying holiday greetings to the package.

“Boy are they going to be surprised when they come back,” he said.

Other holiday events in which police officers are participating this week include an annual Christmas party for 600 children from the Adopt a Family program.

The party, organized by the LAPD West Valley Division and Catholic Charities, will be held from noon to 3 p.m. today at the Guadalupe Center, 21600 Hart St., Canoga Park.

Officers in the North Hollywood station will distribute food and toys to more than 350 needy families from 5 to 10 p.m. today at the station, 11480 Tiara St., North Hollywood.