Target department store employees, along with 15 South Whitehall and 10 Upper Macungie Township police officers made Christmas a little merrier for 22 Parkland students. at its second annual Heroes and Helpers event in December.

Helping with additional funds and donations this year for the second annual Heroes and Helpers event were the Parkland School District Education Foundation and Heather Silman from Heather Silman photography, Allentown.

“Heroes and Helpers is a program designed to help pair in-need youth from the local community with law enforcement,” said Robert Dick, Target executive team leader for assets protection. “It is the latest evolution of a number of programs that have dated back many years, most notably ‘Shop with a Cop,’

”The South Whitehall Target contributed a $2,000 grant, along with supporting items for the in-store event,” “The Parkland Education Foundation donated a match of Target’s contribution from last year, adding $1,500, for a total donated amount of $3,500.”

Dick commented on the efforts of the South Whitehall and Upper Macungie police departments.

“Both municipalities are lucky to have such caring, dedicated teams devoted to looking out for their communities,” he said. “The outpouring of support was amazing.

“Thanks also to Heather Silman, who created a spectacular ‘pre-event’ to gather donations, and who provided excellent photography services.”

South Whitehall Township Police Chief John Christman also spoke with The Press.

”Heroes and Helpers is an opportunity for police officers to make a positive connection with children during the holidays,” Christman said.

Police officers from both South Whitehall and Upper Macungie went to schools in police cars to pick up students for the event, Christman said. ”Last year was the first year we participated and it was a tremendous success. We had to do it again bigger and better. Everyone was eager to participate.

“Every kid who participated seemed to be very happy. The faces of the children involved told the story that day. They were obviously thrilled.”

Upper Macungie Township police Chief Edgardo Colon commented on the event.

Colon said the event is about making an early connection between disadvantaged children and youth and law enforcement to create a positive experience for both.

“Ultimately, police officers swear to serve and protect all citizens,” he stated. “This type of event creates a direct path for officers to see and feel the impact they may have on a person’s life and reminds us of the great rewards of being a public servant.”

Colon said Upper Macungie decided to participate again this year because of the great experience they had last year, the close relationship they have with the Parkland School District and the commitment they have connecting with the youth.

“The event this year was outstanding as expected,” Colon said. “Target increased its amount as well as handing us coupons which made a substantial difference and gave the kids a great opportunity to make for a merrier Christmas for themselves and their families.

“I couldn’t be more thankful to Target for their contributions, the South Whitehall Township Police Department for inviting us into this program last year and the elected leadership township of South Whitehall for opening their doors and participating in this event.”

Diane Joy Irish, LSW, with the Parkland School District, commented on this year’s Heroes and Helpers.

The guidance counselors in each of the school building selected the students who participated, Irish said.

”Children were chosen who have been faced with significant challenges and overcame them, were being acknowledged for a major accomplishment or having made great improvements in themselves or are experiencing major illness, loss, or financial hardships in their family,” Irish stated.

Irish said the parents were notified their children were selected to participate and the students knew ahead of time, as they were asked to think about who they would like to purchase gifts for.

Kate Kareha, executive director with the Parkland School District Education Foundation, commented on how they became involved with the event and why.

”The Heroes and Helpers program came to us from Diane Irish in the form of a Parkland School District Education Foundation Celebrate Innovation Grant application in the spring of 2015,” Kareha said.

Kaareha said the foundation awarded a grant in the amount of $1,500 for this year’s event.

“With our additional support in year two of this program, the organizers were able to increase the number of students from 15 to 22, two from each Parkland school,” she said.

”The foundation was thrilled to be a part of this event,” Kareha stated. “I was overcome with joy the moment I turned off Walbert Avenue and saw the students and officers pulling into the police station with bags of gifts.”

She said the foundation is working hard to raise money for their Celebrate Innovation Grant program for the 2016-17 school year to ensure they can support as many Parkland programs as possible.

“This one in particular is special for the entire Parkland community and is a great example of our wonderful partnerships,” Kareha said.

Heather Silman also commented on how she became involved with the event.

“I got involved with Heroes and Helpers when I reached out to Diane Irish wanting to do more for the community,” she said. “My children attend Fogelsville Elementary and each holiday there is a tree in the school foyer filled with names of children in need of Christmas gifts. Giving just one gift didn’t seem like enough. Surely they needed and deserved more. “So I reached out to Diane to see if I could us my photography business to bring in more donations for the children in the Parkland community.

Silman said she needed to have a large event for all the children to receive equal amounts, so she reached out to an area tree farm, Whispering Pines Tree Farm, to see if she could use their farm.

“David and Nancy Shellhamer, farm owners, were thrilled to host the event,” she stated. “I posted on my photography Facebook page I was holding a Presents for Parkland event on Nov. 8. In lieu of payment, she asked people to bring at least $50 in the needed donations.”

Silman said within 1 hour of posting the event, the day was booked.

“I was shocked! I opened a few additional hours on Nov. 7 to accommodate the others who wanted to donate,” she said. “I saw over 40 families over the course of the 2 days.

Silman said in addition to the needed items, she also collected nine new winter coats, and over $160 in bake sales from her daughter, Ali’s, homemade baked goods during the event).

South Whitehall Commissioners Christina “Tori” Morgan also commented on the event.

“This was an amazing opportunity for our officers to give back to the community along side our sister township Upper Macungie, the Parkland School District and community volunteers,” Morgan said. “Not only did the kids have an amazing day, the officers were also all smiles. This is true holiday spirit.”

“A very special thank you to Target for being such a generous host to an amazing event,” Morgan stated.

After the shopping event, the students and Target employees along with the officers went back to the South Whitehall public meeting room to wrap their gifts and for a holiday party complete with movies, a photo booth, lunch and a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus from Dream Events, Northampton and the Grinch.

Christman said in addition to the officers, the department’s administrative support staff, Melissa Hudak and Michelle Lederer, put a lot of time and effort into making the event a success.

Hudak said Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouse, Wegmans, Shop Rite, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Subway, Top Star Express, and Trixie’s Treats provided the food for the event and Christmas City Studio donated a photo booth and two employees to run it.

Christman said beyond the police department, township staff members from every department supported the event, some helped to wrap presents, others assisted with the luncheon, Peter Pineda of the township water authority even dressed up as the Grinch.

“My point is that beyond the police department, this was a township wide event,” Christmas said. “Everyone contributed to make the day a success.”

See additional photos on the Parkland Press website.