Pointe Coupee Sheriff hands out gift cards, meals to struggling families

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Pointe Coupee Sheriff Rene Thibodeaux and his team handed out 30 $100 gift cards Tuesday with the help of community donations.

“Because of COVID-19 many people are not working, the gift of giving is the best gift you can have,” Thibodeaux says.

They teamed up with several schools across the parish to help pick a few families facing hardships this year. The sheriff says he’s hopeful this brings Christmas joy to those families and the community.

“We’ve always focused on wanting to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community and of course with all of the past year with the COVID and other things happening that’s what we need to do,” Thibodeaux said.

It was a pleasant surprise for many families who received a gift from the PCSO.

“It’s a blessing for the kids, you know since, everything has been kind of tight because people are losing their jobs and stuff, it definitely helps,” Marquella, a mother of two, tells WAFB.

“It makes me feel happy to be a part of a good community, that looks out for children and families in need,” said Nichole Cantrell, another mother who received a gift.

The sheriff says the department will continue supporting the community Wednesday when they prepare and deliver more than 200 meals to families.

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