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Officers Surprise Families With Act Of Kindness

BEAVER (KDKA) – A lot of children will be waking up Christmas morning to toys purchased at the Toys 'R Us near the Beaver Valley Mall.

But, for a couple of families, those presents will be extra special.

Twenty-five officers with the Center Township Police Department chipped in and paid off two layaways.

The idea for the generous act of kindness started with on sergeant.

He approached a few of his colleagues and it took off from there.

"We see it at their worst," said St. Aldo Legge. "But there's good people. Our community is built with good people and sometimes people need a hand."

In just days, the officers collected about $150,000. That amount was then matched by the officers' association.

"It felt great, it just feels good to do something, give something back to our community," Legge said.

"It feels good to do something," said Chief Barry Kramer. "Police officers, generally we don't deliver good news in many cases, so it's nice to go in and do something nice and be thought of in a positive way."

Nikki Ruff, mom to a 5-year-old and two 2-year-olds, says the officers' actions was a real Christmas miracle for her family.

She was in the car with her children when she got the call from the store.

"I was so excited," she said. "I just had a big grin on my face the whole time. I couldn't believe it, that it was me, that happened to me. You hear stuff like that all the time and it was me and I was just so excited. I can't believe it and thank you so much."

Ruff says the surprise couldn't have come at a better time.

"We just had a gas leak in our basement and a hole in our roof, which we repaired both of them, but it was definitely a little bonus after all that happening," she said.

The Center Township officer say they plan to do even more for families next year.

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