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MANSON -- Sometimes Santa rides in a sleigh pulled by nine reindeer and sometimes he drives a police cruiser. It just depends on the day.
On the days Old St. Nick is driving a police cruiser, he might look a little bit like Manson Police Chief Gerry Frick.
Frick, along with the rest of the Manson Police Department and the Manson Lions Club, is hoping to play Santa a bit more this season with Operation Christmas -- a toy and food drive for children in need in the Manson community.
Operation Christmas is currently accepting food, toy and cash donations. This is the fourth year the Manson PD and Lions Club have teamed up for this program. Each year, the program serves about 60 kids.
Each child receives about two gifts, Frick said. The family will also receive a free ham or turkey from the Manson Hometown Grocery store and gift certificates for groceries to get items for a holiday meal.
"Everything is funded by private donations," Frick said.
Food donations can be made at Manson Hometown Grocery, 1101 Main St.; Cubby's Country Store, 1302 First Ave.; or Dollar General, 2956 190th St.
Toy donations can be made at Cubby's; Manson Police Department, 1015 13th St.; Manson Iowa Realty, 1019 Main St.; or Augustana Lutheran Church, 810 Seventh Ave.
Cash donations can be sent to the Manson Lions Club, P.O. Box 911, Manson, IA, 50563. The organizations ask that donations be made by Dec. 15.
"I think it cuts down on the amount of domestic calls that we have," Frick said of the program. "A lot of times during the Christmas holidays you have an increase in domestic calls because people either spend too much money or have no money to spend and it creates bitterness. By making these toys available, we take some of that pressure off."
Frick started this Operation Christmas program four years ago when he took the helm at Manson PD -- it was a program he started when he was working as a police officer in Elkader.
"I just like helping out," he said. "When I was in the Air Force, I helped out with Toys for Tots with the Marine Corps so I just kept on doing it when I went into law enforcement."
Operation Christmas will also be bringing toys to give to the children at the YWCA shelter in Fort Dodge, Frick added.
Families or children can be nominated to receive gifts from Operation Christmas through a form available at Manson City Hall, 1015 13th Street.
Operation Christmas isn't just for the kids -- food is also donated to the elderly in the community.
"I've found that this time of year is particularly hard on the food pantries so we take in canned food goods from people and we make up a food box and give them a ham to have for a Christmas meal," Frick said.