COLUMN: The nearest thing to heaven is a child

Submitted photo.

Ellis County Sheriff Johnny Brown.

One of the most rewarding things I’ve been involved with while serving as your Ellis County Sheriff is the Ellis County Toy Drive. It was an idea that started with our deputies six years ago and has grown to where it involves multiple county offices and local law enforcement agencies, as well as the public at large. With all of this support, we’re able to provide both children’s homes located here in the county with presents for all of the children in their care.

This year, the toy drive will have provided for about 100 kids between the Texas Baptist Home and the Presbyterian Children’s Home. Through everyone’s efforts, not only did the kids receive the items from their wish list, they also received much more. We held pizza parties for each of the homes this week – and each child and teenager there received a Christmas gift bag filled to the brim with presents.

These are kids who won’t be in their own home for Christmas and for many of them it’s because something’s gone wrong in their parents’ lives – and they’ve had to be removed and placed somewhere else as a result. Often these children are picked up and brought to one of the homes with only the clothes on their backs. And we saw that reflected in the humble wish lists they gave us. They were asking for what you and I consider every day basics: socks, shampoo, stuff along those lines.

Everyone working on this project said we can do a lot better than the basics and, with your help, we made it a reality. I wish each of you could have been with us when Santa Claus and his Elf arrived at the homes, along with many of us in law enforcement who were there to reassure these children that there is some good in the world and there are people who care about them.

Seeing these kids happy with a smile on their faces puts a smile on my face. It makes me happy and I’m reminded of the Oak Ridge Boys’ song:

“Thank God for kids, there’s magic for a while
A special kind of sunshine in a smile
Do you ever stop to think or wonder why
The nearest thing to heaven is a child.”

I want to personally thank all of the deputies, detention officers and staff members who worked on the toy drive or made a donation, all of the county employees who participated, Waxahachie Police Chief Wade Goolsby and his department, DPS Sr. Cpl. James Colunga, Constable Terry Nay, Amerigrafix, Best Buy, Brookshires in Midlothian, Cici’s Pizza, Dart Container, and the Walmarts in Ennis, Midlothian and Waxahachie for their help and contributions. If I’ve missed someone, let me apologize at the oversight. And a very special thank you goes to all of the community members who were able to make a donation to the toy drive. Your generosity helped us make the holidays brighter for almost 100 children in need as of Thursday afternoon. And, if there are other children taken into care between now and Christmas, they’ll be taken care of also, due in no small part to your contributions.

It is true that “the nearest thing to heaven is a child” and let’s have that in mind as we do our best to hold as many children as we can close to our hearts. We’ll be doing this again next year and we’re already making plans for the seventh annual Ellis County Toy Drive to be even bigger and better. Join us again in putting a smile on the face of a child.

Please, everyone, let’s keep our military and service personnel in our thoughts and prayers. We enjoy our rights and freedoms because of their service and safekeeping of our great nation. Y’all have a Blessed Week.

Johnny Brown has served as Sheriff of Ellis County since Jan. 1, 2009, and is a graduate of the National Sheriff’s Institute. He has been in law enforcement for more than 20 years and holds a Master’s Peace Officer’s Certificate with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.