Also, $1,000 was raised to help needy senior citizens.
The Fort Morgan Police Department's Blue Santa program has been in charge of the drive for almost 20 years. The Blue Santa delivers the gifts, along with young children as elves. The Blue Santa program offers food and gifts to needy senior citizens.
The police department sorts through the donations, puts them in packages and hauls them to the homes of the seniors. This year, several young people accompanied the Blue Santa.
People living in rural areas have higher rates of poverty than their urban counterparts. Rural areas tend to have a higher percentage of elderly in the population than in cities, since the young migrate to jobs in cities. Fort Morgan is in the Northeast corner of Colorado and is primarily rural.
Santa and his young elves love to visit Assisted Living and Continuing Care residences.