The duo of Officer Kelsey Kemppainen and Civilian Investigator Megan Rubio represented the Blue Santa emergency fund. Blue Santa Program is affiliated with the Lawrence Police Department and is designed to provide emergency assistance to community members when police officers encounter a person in need. The program began as a Christmas gift program but has expanded to assist a variety of hardship situations throughout the year. Officers may for example make a request for assistance for an individual who is in need of groceries or a vehicle repair or has suffered a house fire. A volunteer Board approves the gifts and Blue Santa is totally donor financed. Since the programs inception in 2011, 1,576 families and 3,730 children have been served, $53,853 grocery gift cards awarded and $17,462 of other assistance provided.
