During the past 18 Christmas holiday seasons, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies have supported hundreds of families from the Glades through a program funded by My Brothers’/Sisters’ Keeper Charitable Trust that provides the money to enable these families to buy food, clothes and toys to enjoy the Christmas holiday.
Once again this Christmas, the PBSO partnered with My Brothers’/Sisters’ Keeper Charitable Trust, founded by Jess Santamaria 20 years ago to assist needy families in Palm Beach County, and the Ken and Arle Adams Charitable Foundation, to make the holidays a little brighter for 333 families in the Glades.
Through a generous $50,000 donation from these charities, the PBSO purchased $150 gift cards, which were presented to the identified families in the Glades on Friday, Dec. 20. PBSO officials made stops that day in Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay.
Major Eric Coleman expressed thanks from the PBSO for the donations that made the holiday giveaway possible. “We are always very appreciative of the Santamaria family and very grateful for their generosity when it comes to programs like this,” he said.
The program was started by Jess Santamaria through My Brothers’/Sisters’ Keeper Charitable Trust. Later, Ken Adams asked to join in the program through his Ken and Arle Adams Charitable Foundation. These two charities raised the $50,000 needed for this year’s Christmas program in the Glades, which resulted in hundreds of happy faces.
“I am grateful to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for all the great work they do for the communities in the Glades,” said Jess Santamaria, founder of My Brothers’/Sisters’ Keeper Charitable Trust. “The people in the Glades are very close to my heart. I am so proud that we have been able to keep this wonderful holiday tradition alive that I began 20 years ago.”
