High schools team up with RRPD to bring toys to kids in need

RIO RANCHO — The Rio Rancho Police Department picked up toys for kids in need Dec. 2-3 from Rio Rancho and Cleveland high schools.

“This was an initiative that started many years ago, through the Rio Rancho High School Athletic Department. Coach Ron Murphy, who was our former baseball coach here, he’s the one that initiated it many, many years ago, and the Rio Rancho High School Athletics Department is directly responsible for providing gifts to all the children at our Christmas party for families that are in need, and we could not do it without them,” RRPD Capt. Jacquelynn Reedy said.

Though RRHS has historically been the high school that initiates the program, Cleveland joined in the initiative for the first time this year under new Activities Director Kathy Shallenberger.

Reedy says the number of kids in the program has gone up, so having both schools on board is a big help.

“We have 199 kids that have signed up for this. I have a few gifts back at the office, and when I was going through them and sorting them out by ages, I kind of panicked for a little bit. I was like, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to be able to get 199 gifts, but coming here and seeing the gratitude and everything that was donated and then tomorrow, we got Cleveland ,who’s also donating gifts,” she said the first day of collection at RRHS. “It makes me feel better, and I know we’re going to be OK and this is going to be a successful event.”

The students were excited to be a part of it, too. Both schools, before the toys were loaded into RRPD vehicles, gathered the toys in their gyms. RRHS had quite the pile on top of the Rams symbol in the middle of the floor, and Cleveland filled at least half of their Storm logo.

“I want to thank all the athletes and all the coaches who participated in the toy drive. It is going to mean a lot to a lot of underprivileged kids and make their holiday season a little bit nicer than it would have been,” Reedy told the group. “Thank you very much for being unselfish and giving up your money and your time today.”

Officer Daisy Gomez was overjoyed as well.

“It’s an awesome feeling to come here and see all these gifts that were donated,” she said.

The toys will be given to those families at RRPD’s Christmas party at RRHS Dec. 14.