MARIETTA — The Cobb County Sheriff Office’s third annual Santa on Wheels toy drive donated more than 2,000 toys to children all across the county.
Dozens of deputies spread the Christmas cheer Saturday by parading to multiple underserved communities to drop off gift-wrapped toys for children to put under their tree. Sheriff Craig Owens played the role of Santa Claus with his wife Sharon Owens by his side as Mrs. Claus to help pass out gifts to families.
The initiative is a collaboration between the Sheriff’s Office and the Cobb Sheriff’s Foundation that aims to provide free toys to households facing financial challenges during the holidays.
Toys are collected for the event thanks to contributions from the office, the foundation and individual donations from Cobb residents. This year, Sheriff Office Latino Liaison Carlos Garcia, who helped found Santa on Wheels, said the office and foundation collected between 2,000 and 2,500 gifts for the toy drive.
“We decided to … bring some joy and at the same time we can get law enforcement and the community to interact in a positive way, especially around Christmas time,” Garcia said. “We decided to put the event on wheels because why not spread love around Cobb County?”