Cranston PD Invite you to "Stuff a Cruiser" at Walmart for Kids on Saturday

Cranston Police officers usually stuff bad guys into the backs of their cruisers, but on Saturday morning in the Walmart parking lot at 1776 Plainfield Pike, they’ll be packing in a whole lot of good.

It’s a Stuff a Cruiser event, part of the Kids, Cops and Christmas program that Cranston Police have embraced this holiday season.

From 10 a.m. to noon, police will be on hand with a cruiser ready to be stuffed to the gills with new, unwrapped presents for underpriveliged children who live in the area.

At the same time, the Walmart store has agreed to donate $200 worth of toys to the campaign, but without a good turnout from the community, the event won’t be a success.

The goal of the program is to brighten the holidays for needy children across Rhode Island.

Participating are: Rhode Island State Police, Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, United States Attorney’s Office, United States Marshals Service, Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association and other statewide law enforcement agencies.

Many of these children are clients of Crossroads Rhode Island, Children’s Friend, Family Service of Rhode Island, Project Night Vision, Hispanic Ministerial Association of Rhode Island, Center for Southeast Asians, Mount Hope Neighborhood Association, Multi-Cultural Center for All and the African Alliance.

“The goal of Kids, Cops and Christmas is to provide a positive holiday experience for these children and to show them that police officers are their friends and are in their community to help them,” said Cranston Police Capt. Vincent McAteer, the department’s director of community outreach.

Gifts should be valued under $25.

For more information, call 401-942-2211.