California Highway Patrol Surprises Thermal

California Highway Patrol officers spent Christmas morning patrolling Thermal, but for a job of a different sort.

You wouldn’t realize how big an impact even the smallest toy has on a child unless you spent the morning being their Santa Claus. Two California Highway Patrol officers spent Christmas morning making sure kids had presents to wake up to.

“We’re going to some of the needy areas of the Coachella Valley to give gifts and help out some of the families that haven’t been able to give gifts to their kids,” officer Paul Trinidad said.

“Chips for Kids”, as CHP calls it, happens every year, but this was the first time officers actually went door to door on Christmas morning. For these kids, the surprise visibly blew them away.

“They couldn’t believe seeing all those toys, and they kept saying ‘Thank you police, thank you police,” officer John Gette said. “We have all kinds of toys. Skateboards, footballs, dolls, baseballs, basketballs, you name it we got it.”

“They were donated from various areas throughout the valley,” Trinidad added.

CHP started handing out gifts at 8 a.m. Officers went to various mobile home parks in Thermal, and when kids saw the cars, they came running. It wasn’t just kids saying, ‘Thank you’.

“This year we didn’t have a lot of money so it was really important. Not just for them but for us, too,” Ramiel Rodriguez said.

“The way they just ran to the car, it’s amazing, they bring a lot of happiness to them,” Trudy Rodriguez said.

They surely made believers out of anyone who doubted that the holidays are a time full of magic and miracles. Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it.