ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The Thanksgiving holiday might seem a while off yet, but the Seward County Sheriff’s Department is already thinking of ways to help local families in need this season.

The department is currently accepting donations for its food drive and will be taking donations until the week of Thanksgiving. Items being sought include stuffing mix, canned vegetables, instant potatoes, cranberry sauce, and other canned or dry foods. Sgt. Arline Lizarraga said there will be a lot of work involved with the drive.

“We started this about two weeks ago, and we're going to accept donations through the week of Thanksgiving. After that, we're going to make the baskets for these families, and those will be given out either Nov. 23 or 24,” Lizarraga said. “We’ve done these types of drives within the office before, but this time, we wanted to include the whole community. We wanted to do something special for the community, especially during the holidays. We know there's hard times right now for a lot of families who are struggling to put food on the table. We wanted to find a way to make them feel like happy and have a good Thanksgiving. The Seward County Sheriff's Office is planning on buying six turkeys, so we are planning on making six baskets. Everything else that typically comes with a Thanksgiving meal, that’s what we're looking for people to donate.”

Lizarraga said there are some differences with this year’s drive.

“We used to contact schools in Liberal, but this year we wanted to do something different. We have delivered baskets families here in Liberal, and this year we are planning on looking for families in the entirety of Seward County,” Lizarraga said. “There’s Southwestern Heights for the Kismet/Plains area, so we wanted to look in that area and see if we have somebody out of Liberal who might be in need. Our job is to enforce the law, and we are here to support our community as well. We're not here just making sure people obey the laws, we're here also to be there for them. We’re constantly being called to rough situations and situations where someone’s having a hard time or going through something that's not really good, so we want to do something different and we want to be there for them as well when they are going through something good. Doing this drive is exciting for our office, for the officers, and the families who get the baskets.”

Lizarraga said she hopes the office gets a large amount of donations from the community.

“I would encourage everyone to look outside of what they have in front of them,” Lizarraga said. “Not everything is the same for everyone, and not everyone has the same food on the table. So I would encourage the community to come help, whether it’s one or two cans or one boxes. Anything anyone can help us with, it's going to help somebody else. Our job is really stressful most of the time, and we see things no one should ever have to see, and it's really hard sometimes. This drive is something that makes our heart feel like warm. We are helping when someone’s going through something rough, but we also want to help and be there for them and make them feel happy for a few moments or for a day.”

Donations can be taken to the Seward County Sheriff’s Office at 501 N. Washington Ave., and Lizarraga said the donation process is pretty simple.

“People can bring their donations to the office, and if you don't have a vehicle to come here, if you call (620) 309-2000, we can send one of our deputies to pick up the donation, and they can bring it in,” Lizarraga said. “There's always somebody at this office, so if they can go to the big windows right in the front, and somebody's going to be there to help them.”

Overall, Lizarraga said, she is hoping for a successful food drive.

“As the Seward County Sheriff's Office, we believe serving our community goes beyond wearing the badge. We want to, we want families to know that we care about them, not just during the emergencies, during difficult times too,” Lizarraga said. “Thanksgiving is about being thankful, giving back, and helping others. If we can help even with one family have better Thanksgiving, then we're making a difference.”