The Moultrie Police Department and the Department of Family and Children Services are hosting their annual Cram the Cruiser toy drive for children in foster care. You can drop off a toy at the Moultrie Police Department, 128 First St. S.W.

MOULTRIE, Ga. – Though the options on locations might be limited due to COVID-19 concerns, the Moultrie Police Department’s and the Department of Family and Children Services’ Cram the Cruiser toy drive is back for the 2020 Christmas season.

Initially, there is one site set up for toy donations outside the Moultrie Police Department office. Check the City of Moultrie websites for additional locations as they open up. The drive is already under way and tentatively will continue through Dec. 23.

Moultrie Police Chief Sean Ladson is excited about the past success of Cram the Cruiser, which is aimed at serving youth under the care of Colquitt County’s DFCS. For Ladson, this is also an opportunity to explain and clarify the role of DFCS.

“They don’t just take children,” he said. From his previous roles – including a drug agent – in local law enforcement, Ladson said he saw first-hand the environments children often found themselves in and how they were taken out of them. These children, he said, go to either foster care or to other family members. The goal is to develop a safety plan for the parent or parents to agree with before returning the children.

A major difference between foster settings and other relatives, Ladson said, is that foster parents receive assistance in order to provide for the children. Family members like an older sibling or grandparent don’t. That makes times like Christmas a burden, especially if that family already has other children under its roof.

“The community outpouring has been amazing,” said Ladson about the brief time Cram the Cruiser has taken place. “Just a stuffed animal or a race car or truck, it’s something a child can hold onto. It’s theirs. It gives them a sense of control … security.”

Ladson also wanted to recognize the numerous community partners with Cram the Cruiser in its brief history and the work of Jessica Sullivan from DFCS. Partners included Heritage Church, Colquitt Regional Medical Center and the Women’s Federated Guild.

“I have no doubt it will be successful (this year),” said Ladson.