BMPD saves the Season for local families

‘Holidays with Heroes’ lends a helping hand in the swannanoa valley

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
December 21, 2022

Black Mountain Police Chief Steve Parker greets Santa Claus, played by Glen Rice, Dec. 20, as the department hosted "Holidays with Heroes.” The program raised more than $15,000 to purchase holiday gifts and meals for local families. Photo by Fred McCormick

The Black Mountain Police Department called for a different kind of reinforcement, Dec. 20, as backup for “Holidays with Heroes” arrived in a bright red suit and fluffy white beard.

The department’s collaboration with Santa Claus, played by Black Mountain Ingles Manager Glen Rice, represented the latest in a series of local partnerships that raised more than $15,000 to purchase holiday gifts and meals for families in the community.

The program, organized by BMPD Lieutenant Joe Kidd and Downtown Community Officer Brad DeMuth, brought most of the nearly 28 children, from 16 Swannanoa Valley families, to the department’s training room, where they snacked on cookies and candy as officers and cadets loaded boxes of wrapped presents into vehicles.

“It’s something I really look forward to every year,” said Kidd, an 18-year BMPD veteran. “This is really what it’s all about.”

Assisting local families during the Holiday Season is a longstanding tradition at the department, which in 1993 established the Johnny Raines Christmas Program, named after the longtime auxiliary police chief who passed away in 2015. That initiative has been organized by the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry for nearly a decade, but BMPD continued its own fundraising efforts.

“I’ve been fortunate to be involved with a holiday program every year since I joined the department,” Kidd said. “I started when we still had the Johnny Raines Program, and after that moved to the SVCM, the programs have evolved here.”

Funding for the Holidays with Heroes program came from a range of local partnerships, according to Chief Steve Parker.

“This wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of this community,” he said. “It’s a great example of neighbors helping neighbors, and something the department is proud to be part of.”

Members of the BMPD Cadet Corps, Jackson Stone (left) and Kameron Creasman, right, and Basic Law Enforcement Training student Aidan Nalley, center, volunteer who in the department’s “Holidays with Heroes” programs. Photo by Fred McCormick

BMPD fundraising efforts in 2022 included its inaugural golf tournament, which will return, June 9, 2023, for its second year. The department raised approximately $15,000, which was used to provide Thanksgiving meals to 18 local families, most of whom also received Christmas gifts.

“We partnered with Buncombe County Schools and asked local schools to identify families who might need help for the Holidays,” Parker said. “We asked for permission from the families before making contact.”

Each child filled out a form that included sizes, a wish list and interests, while officers shopped for and wrapped more than 400 gifts.

Officers carry gifts through the BMPD Training Room, Dec. 20, as the department hosted “Holidays with Heroes,” which supported 16 local families this year. Photo by Fred McCormick

“It’s been a great team building and bonding experience, not only for us, but for other town employees,” Parker said. “Our officers, members of our cadet program and staff from the recreation department and town hall all volunteered to get everything ready once the gifts were purchased.”

While each child received $600 in gifts, including bicycles, bean bag chairs, clothing and heated blankets, parents were given a $100 gift card for Ingles.

“You can really hear the appreciation and relief in a lot of the families’ voices,” Kidd said. “It feels good to help people who need it, especially this time of year.”

Breaking down barriers between law enforcement officers and the community they serve is one reason the holiday drive is important, according to Parker.

“It gives us a chance to interact with the community in a different way, and they can see us as giving and loving people,” he said. “It also breaks down walls for staff, because they get to meet the children and families they’ve been shopping for. It’s a program that not only helps people right here in Black Mountain, but also changes hearts and minds.”