Alexiris Sanchez, 2,  sits with Santa last week at the Woonsocket Police Department’s annual holiday party.  Call Photo/Joseph B. Nadeau

By JOSEPH B. NADEAU
When times are tough, getting help with a few Christmas presents for the children can make a big difference in someone’s outlook.

Jasmine Manzano found that to be true when she visited the Because He Lives Ministries for the Police Department’s annual holiday party and toy distribution for families in need.
“It was great,” Manzano said as her children, Miguel, Albert and Remmi, carried packages containing radio-controlled cars, children’s books and a mermaid game.
“My kids really need this,” she said. Her children also thought the party was a lot of fun: They were all smiles as they carried their gifts home.
Putting smiles on kids’ faces was the order of the day for Detective Sgt. John Scully and his crew of Woonsocket Police Department elves working the toy distribution.
Scully and Detective Sgt. Shawn Kerrigan had spent several weeks collecting toys at local businesses like Wal-Mart and from private donors dropping gifts off at the police station.
 The drive has been organized annually by Local 404 of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers and the department. Each year, it ends with the party arranged by Pat Dempster, director of Because He Live, just prior to the holidays.
 As in past years, the event was attended by a large crew of city police officers and several civilian volunteers, including City Councilwoman Suzanne Vadenais, Shirley Robinson and former police detective Todd Brien.
Police Chief Thomas Carey was also on hand, serving as special assistant to Santa Claus, who swept in from the North Pole to hand out the toys personally.
The party also featured holiday cookies, candy and soft drinks that the young ones enjoyed before they headed home.
 Pat Dempster and her helper, Jeanne Michon, sent out tickets to families needing a little holiday assistance. She estimated that over 200 families would be served by the time the event concluded.
“They did a wonderful job putting this together and they do a wonderful job with this every year,” Dempster said of the local police officers involved. “God bless them for doing this.”
 Dempster has seen plenty of evidence of the downturn in the economy at the Because He Lives Soup Kitchen, operated in the First Baptist Church basement on Blackstone Street.
She knows things like the children’s toy distribution or her own group’s Christmas Day dinner at the Kitchen can help.
 “We are their family,” Dempster said of the kitchen patrons she will help feed today. “The Christmas dinner will feature a band for entertainment and there will even be dancing after everyone eats.
“They come here every year and they are family to each other,” she said.
The police holiday party for the kids also impressed Cynthia Senquiz, who went to get presents with her children Edwin and Ledwin Burgos, both 4, and daughter, Genensis, 6.
“I like it because they are so helpful,” Senquiz said. “This is a nice experience for me.”
Chief Carey, making his first visit to the party, said he was impressed by all the work Scully and his volunteers had put in.
“I think Detective Sgt. Scully did a great job putting this all together,” Carey said. “It’s just nice to be here doing something to help the community.”