To spread joy and positivity throughout the community, the Wood County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Kroger to bring Christmas in July.

On Saturday, Kroger launched “Santa on Patrol” in partnership with the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, the Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office, the Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office in Virginia and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan. Each sheriff’s office was given 25 $100 Kroger gift cards to give to community members.

The goal of this initiative was to provide positive interactions between law enforcement officers and community members and to share some joy.

Each gift card was given to a random family or person who seemed to be having a bad day or just needed a boost.

Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said he and his deputies are always looking for new ways to have positive interactions with community members and hopes the unexpectedness of this initiative will bring some positivity.

“We’re always looking for what else we can do that’s a positive interaction because so often people watch the news, watch TV, and just see negative,” Wasylyshyn said.

Throughout the afternoon on Saturday, Wasylyshyn and a few of his deputies traveled aroun the county handing out their gift cards.

Deputy John Klepacz was one of the officers delivering gift cards. He was given four cards, each which he gave to four different people in Bloomdale.

Being able to personally handout the gift cards and see people’s reactions was something Klepacz said made him feel like he was making an impact in someone’s life and making them happy.

“It’s a good outreach for the community and shows them that, hey we’re out there to help you guys out,” Klepacz said.

Mark Bruce, the corporate affairs manager for Kroger’s Columbus Division, said by bringing Christmas in July he hopes to provide people with the Christmas spirit year round.

“A way to just randomly find folks, provide that gift card and help brighten their day just a little bit,” Bruce said. “Give them something when they might not expect it and just really give them that little bonus that they need to help get through a day.”