911 employees help area kids
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Belmont County's 911 employees joined in helping area children have a merry Christmas this year.
Belmont County 911 Director Bryan Minder said that this year instead of receiving their usual $50 gift card bonuses, the 20 employees of the center chose to play Santa for children who might not otherwise find a gift waiting under the tree.
"The normal Christmas gift that we get every year, we pulled all that together with some additional money and were able to help out some kids at the Giving Tree at the mall and give some of the money to the Belmont Police Department for their Christmas with a Cop program," Minder said. "All together, we had about $1,200 that was donated."
He added that the Belmont police drew the names of two children — one boy and one girl — to each go on a $250 shopping trip with an officer.
"We donated $500 for that," Minder said.
Following the shopping trips, village officers made the rounds with Santa Claus, bringing gifts to all the young children in the community.
Minder said the 911 staff selected seven names from the Salvation Army's Giving Tree and spent $100 on each.
"That was $700 we were able to give back to kids that needed it," he said.
Minder said his staff is aware of the economic hits that many in the county have taken this year, with job losses and reduced work hours resulting from the pandemic.
"It's a rough year for everyone, and we just thought it was something nice to try and do to help everybody out. That's the nice thing with these dispatchers. They come to work all day long and they help people, that's their job, and they still want to do it even after hours," Minder said. "They think of people that are in need."