GREENFIELD — Eight-year-old Jaymison Vitale couldn’t believe his eyes when a partition was rolled back to reveal stacks and stacks of Christmas gifts at the annual Blue Angel Connect holiday giveaway Dec. 16 at the Buck Creek Township Fire Department’s community room.
“Holy cow that’s a lot of presents!,” he said.
Since 2016, the local nonprofit Blue Angel Connect has organized a Holiday Hope giveaway for families in need.
This year, nine families received wrapped gifts from everyone in the household, including parents and kids.
The families knew they were invited to enjoy lunch and a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus on Saturday, but they didn’t know a mountain of gifts were awaiting them in the room next door.
Jaymison beamed at the big reveal as his sister, 7-year-old Addison Abell, tapped her fingers excitedly in anticipation.
Their mom was equally surprised.
“This is incredible,” said Shaylynn Abell as her husband, Ray Keesling, held their 9-month-old baby in his arms.
Abell said the family, who lives near Shirley, has struggled financially since she quit her job earlier this year to stay home due to the high cost of childcare.
“Things have really been tight, so this helps out a lot,” said Abell as her two oldest kids made a beeline for the gifts.
Nine families were provided not only presents but a barbecue lunch, visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus and a Christmas meal with all the trimmings to enjoy on Christmas Day.
Blue Angel Connect has been hosting the holiday event since 2016, back when recent Mt. Vernon High School graduate Nicole Burris came up with the idea when she was 11 years old.
“She wanted to change the perception of how the public looks at cops,” said her dad, Brent Burris, who retired as a detective with the Shirley Police Department three years ago.
Nicole, now an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Cincinnati, said she’s thrilled to see the program carry on after all these years.
“I started this as a kid because I just wanted to help people, and I still do,” she said Saturday. “We’ve got a good program going so we hope to see it expand.”
Funded strictly through donations, Blue Angel Connect was able to serve nine families this year, although it served as many as 13 families in the past.
One family will be featured on Fox 59 this week, which Burris hopes will generate even more support for the program.
The nonprofit raised $15,000 at a fundraiser in October featuring actors Erick Estrada and Larry Wilcox, who starred as motorcycle cops in “CHiPs,” the 1970s television hit series that ran for six consecutive seasons.
Burris’ wife, Kim Burris, said the Holiday Hope giveaway is a great way to serve local families.
“A lot of people tend to think of families in need in Indianapolis, but there are still families who need help right here in Hancock County, and there are people willing to help,” she said.
A friend of her husband’s who owns Smokehouse BBQ in Greenwood donates all the food for the luncheon each December.
Sgt. Zach Fuhrman of the Shirley Police Department also helps out each year.
“This is one of the highlights of my Christmas,” he said as Santa and Mrs. Claus made their grand entrance on a firetruck escorted by a police car, both with lights flashing and sirens blasting.
As they exited the firetruck, Jaymison and his sister Addison headed straight to the jolly couple dressed in red to give them a big hug, unaware of the holiday surprises that awaited them inside.
To learn more about Blue Angel Connect or to support the Holiday Hope program, visit BlueAngelConnect.org.
