By Kerra Huchowski, Commonwealth Fusion Center
In the fall of 2010, members of the Office of Media Relations
were developing ideas for the holiday season. Sergeant Michael
Popovics remembered seeing a turkey drive, where people
would purchase a turkey and donate it to those
in need. Using the idea of the turkey drive,
Sergeant Popovics came up with a suggestion
of “Stuff the Cruiser.” Sergeant Popovics also
had the idea of partnering with Toys R Us, a
national sponsor of Toys for Tots. After a further
modification, the words “Fill the Cruiser” was
born. The late Lieutenant Matthew Murray
was extremely instrumental in developing
the logistics necessary to successful deploy
the first “Fill the Cruiser” event. His actions
included obtaining promotional posters that
are used at the front of the Toys R Us stores,
organizing the media coverage, and soliciting
volunteer staffing from Massachusetts State
Police members.
Sergeant Popovics fondly remembers the first
year of the “Fill the Cruiser” campaign at the Kingston Toys R
Us. “It was great to interact with the public in a positive way.”
Troopers opened the doors of their cruiser and allowed the kids
to climb inside and play with the lights and sirens. At one point
a fully assembled bike was placed on the roof of a cruiser. Across
the state, there were stories of people that donated in memory
of someone they lost, stories of people making donations of
toys worth over $800, and stories of people simply donating
toys because they thought it was the right thing to do.
In the first year of the “Fill the Cruiser” campaign, there were
five Toys R Us-sponsored “Fill the Cruiser” locations where
approximately 3,200 toys were donated to Toys for Tots.
Last year there were eight locations and with 4,589 toys donated
to Toys for Tots. This year’s “Fill the Cruiser” campaign took place
at eight Toys R Us locations across Massachusetts on November
23, 2013. This year, we are hoping to increase the number of toys
donated to “Fill the Cruiser” and the 2013 Toys for Tots campaign
by 10%. While our goal is high we believe it is obtainable.
Being the Massachusetts State Police Toys for Tots Coordinator
I often hear about families in need. One year in particular, a
mother called me a couple of days before Christmas crying that
she did not have toys for Christmas and she had missed the
deadline to register for assistance because she had been in the
hospital. The nature of our jobs often leaves us skeptical and,
to be honest, I was. After checking with local area charities and
the Marines, I learned that she was truly in need of assistance;
however, no one had the toys to help her. By Christmas Eve I
had the toys that I needed to deliver for her children and picked
up wrapping paper, tape, and bows so she could wrap it all up
before her children got home. When I spoke with her, I learned
that she indeed had been in the hospital for a very long time;
she was profoundly grateful to the men and women of the State
Police for helping her in this time of need.
To call the State Police to ask for help takes a lot of courage.
There is a process in place to ensure people are not taking undo
advantage of the public’s generosity; anyone selling/ auctioning
toys will be removed from the system.
French·and·electric·blue·December·2013·page·10