Throughout early December, volunteers with the Travis County Sheriff’s Brown Santa program packaged and distributed food and gifts to families in need within the Austin area.

Approximately 2,000 volunteers were involved in the entire process of receiving, sorting, packaging, and distributing donations. Each individual child received two toys, a book, puzzle, and a stuffed animal while each family received one game.

“A lot of work goes into that box, that’s for sure, but it’s a lot of Christmas joy,” Senior Deputy and Program Chairman Louis Moncivais said. “A lot of these families wouldn’t have Christmas if it wasn’t for our program, so that’s the reason why we have the program for families that are having tough times.”

The volunteers consisted of community members, government employees, Deputies from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Constable Precinct 4 Deputies, Parks Police Officers, and Austin Community College District Police Officers and their families. Among the volunteers were elected officials, including Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez and Travis County Precinct 4 Constable George Morales.

“As a community servant, [the best part is] being out here [and] being able to help our community, being able to see families [and] little kids get excited because they’re going to have a really great Christmas this year,” Constable Morales said.

The Travis County Sheriff’s Brown Santa program has been run by law enforcement officers, other government employees, and community members for the past 41 years. Over 2,500 families received food and gifts from the program this year, which is a 45% increase from last year.

Preparation for next year’s program begins in February, and for more information on the Travis County Sheriff’s Brown Santa program, visit their website at brownsanta.org.