Gilbert Police, Fire Departments Kick Off Toy Drive With Games

GILBERT, AZ —With Christmas right around the corner, the Gilbert Police Department and the Gilbert Fire Department are kicking off their annual toy drives with a game of slow-pitch softball. They hope for a big community turnout.

The Bases and Badges event will be held on Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. at Cactus Yards in Gilbert. The event will begin with the Gilbert Police Department taking on the Gilbert Fire Department in a game of slow-pitch softball. After that, there's a kickball game in which all of the children in attendance can also play alongside the officers and firefighters.

People are encouraged to bring toys to donate. The officers and firefighters will then deliver them to children in Gilbert closer to Christmas.

Bases and Badges, along with the other holiday events put on by the public safety departments of Gilbert, give the officers and firefighters a chance to connect with the community and interact with the families of the town

“This event is just one way we can say thank you and have the opportunity to interact with the public we are honored to serve. It continues to foster the relationship between the public and their public safety servants,” Mark Justus, a participant of the upcoming softball game and the chief deputy for the Gilbert Fire Department said.

Jennifer Snyder, the digital media and marketing public information officer of the Gilbert Fire Department, said both departments use social media to promote the holiday community events so that a large public audience can be reached. Snyder added that they also choose to use social media to promote the events because it is a more informal way to communicate and interact with the community.

“We try to plan events where both fire and police of Gilbert can participate to show the community the connection and the friendship between the two departments. Oftentimes the public views police officers as the bad guy and firemen as the hero, so to bring the two together for a community event is important to show that there is not a division between the two,” Snyder said.

“I do think that there is a stigma pertaining to the police and their profession. Often times the public only sees police handle the bad situations which then is televised on the news for everyone to see, so these events help show the public that we are normal people just doing our job to protect and serve the community,” Robert Martinez, a fireman at Station #9 in Gilbert said.

More than 20 officers already signed up to play in the softball game, but Jennifer Harrison, the deputy director for the Gilbert Fire Department, said she is positive that they will have more of the department in attendance, saying officers love bringing their families to community events to get out and to interact with the town Gilbert in a “not-on-the-clock way.”

There are many other events that both the Gilbert Police Department and the Fire Department will be hosting this holiday season to connect and give back to the community, such as the Firetruck Rides and Pictures with Santa on Dec. 7 from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the Gilbert Walmart located at 2501 S. Market St.

“I like to participate in these events during the holidays because I know that the kids look up to us firefighters, and I like to make sure I show them that serving the community is important,” Martinez said.

“Hand delivering the donated toys is another amazing way for the public safety departments to connect with the community because it shows the children that these men and women are here to protect them and there is no need to fear the officers of firefighters,” Harrison said.

Both the fire and police departments are accepting donations at any event held this holiday season as well as there are donation boxes located at police and fire stations in Gilbert through Dec. 16. For more information visit this website.