Bob CollinsIt’s amazing how you can change a life with a cheap tie.
Meet the staff of the Anoka County Attorney’s Office Juvenile Division. A few months ago, they collected donated ties, and then held a tie sale in late October. County employees, including judges, attorneys and sheriffs, bought them and the Division raised $1,300.
And so Joe, and Justin, and Taylor, and Jailin, and Carlos and 12 other people in four families will have Christmas presents later this month.
The people you see here, led by Assistant County Attorney Patricia Fair (standing on right in the black), spent their lunch hour today wrapping the presents.
Social workers gave the office the first names and ages of the four families who needed a Christmas, and these people did the rest, even though they’ve not met the families and probably won’t. But, given the line of work they’re in, they have a pretty good idea of the situations the four families are in when it comes to Christmas presents.
Ms. Fair, described by a colleague as “a ruthless cross examiner who’s the first to volunteer when someone needs help,” organized the “Tie One On” campaign, and approached people for the donated ties. In the past, the office has taken up collections in the office and helped a single family, but this year the “tie idea” raised so much money, they bought dozens and dozens of presents for the four families.
The division handles many child protection cases, which provided a momentary contrast to the gift-wrapping session. Someone brought up a new case in the office, apparently, involving a six-month-old with a broken skull, but it was quickly agreed that these moments would focus instead on the people who are the beneficiaries of people doing good.
