When Dallas ISD police officer Omar Sepulveda decided to bring holiday cheer—and presents—to students with special needs at Dr. L.G. Pinkston Sr. High School, he asked the JROTC cadets to help him organize the drive.
Sepulveda went a step further by incentivizing students to participate through a competition among five different classes to see which would raise the most donations. The winner, he said, would get a pizza party. It worked.
Students brought enough donations for the special education population but also for the children at Children’s Medical Center Dallas.
That act of generosity marked the beginning of the Officer Claus Toy Drive.
Teaming up with public safety officer Regina Black, the officers work with the school staff to identify children they suspect might be experiencing financial difficulties. After obtaining approval from their respective school principals, Sepulveda and Black place collection
boxes and post flyers around their schools to encourage students and staff to give.
“I’ve been assigned to multiple schools in Dallas, so every year I just go to the principals of my district and ask them, ‘Is it okay if we could give out toys?’” Sepulveda said.
Sepulveda and Black do not limit the drive to a single district. To ensure families elsewhere are reached, they rely on staff members in those areas to act as their eyes and ears.
“In some areas, you can tell which schools need help. It just depends on where you are,” Sepulveda said. “There are some areas where I don’t make it myself, so there are different officers in their areas, and they’ll tell me, ‘Hey, I think this school will need something.’ I just say, ‘Sure, we’ve got the toys. Come and get them.’”
Throughout the years, Sepulveda said he has been fortunate to have had the support of the nonprofit Buckner Humanitarian Aid Center, which distributes food and other essential items to families in need. The partnership blossomed when Sepulveda’s church brought young volunteers there, and later, when Sepulveda decided to bring toys to the Buckner Center one Christmas. “For Christmas, Buckner gives out food and small gifts to families. I figured we could bring some more toys
out there and help them out, too.” Sepulveda said. “There have been years when I’ve been low on toys, and the people over at Buckner say, ‘We’ve got you. You helped us out, so now let us help you.’”
Additional partnerships have surfaced, including ones with El Rio Grande Latin Market, Credit Union of Texas, National Latino Law Enforcement Organization (NLLEO), and Comadres Unidas de Dallas y Más. While most organizations provide financial donations, others such as El Rio Grande, donate meat for Sepulveda’s Tacos for Toys fundraiser, which promises community members a taco in exchange for a toy. Credit Union of Texas not only gives financial contributionsbut its representatives go with Sepulveda and Black on toy shopping trips to Five Below.
Just before winter break, Sepulveda and Black hold the main toy distribution event in the auditorium of a host school—this year, at Seagoville High School. The space is decorated festively with a Christmas tree and, in recent years, a snow machine to give the atmosphere an air of magic. As students file in, they take in a lively scene: volunteers standing at gift-wrapping stations, bags stacked high with gifts, and an officer dressed as Santa.
“I want the kids to come out and have a good time, not just get a toy,” Sepulveda said. “They should feel like they have those 45 minutes to themselves — they can grab chocolate while their present is getting wrapped and enjoy the moment.”
Sepulveda will continue the tradition for as long as he can, and he hopes others will carry the legacy forward long after he is gone.
“I’m just hoping someone who wants to be a giver keeps it going,” Sepulveda said. “I tell everybody, it’s better to give than to receive; that’s the main thing.”
If you would like to donate a toy, please contact Officer Omar Sepulveda at (469) 605-7018 or at osepulveda@dallasisd.org.
