It’s party time!

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

It was difficult to figure out who was having the most fun last week when the 7th Police District hosted its annual holiday party for the children of the Fox Chase Champions.
Naturally, the kids had a ball. There were enough hot dogs and hamburgers to feed an army, and clowns waddled around while making balloon animals. The Phillie Phanatic stopped by to dance up a storm, before Santa Claus made his grand entrance to pass out gifts to all of the good little girls and boys.
Not to be outdone, the grown-ups were grinning ear to ear while watching their mentally and physically challenged children dance, sing, play and absorb a potent dose of positive interaction with their peers.
"Our kids have so few social activities they can do as a group," said Bitty Leo, whose son Nicholas, 12, has played soccer and other sports with the Champions since he was about 6.
"People take that for granted," she said, "but for our kids it’s different."
That said, Leo’s son and other special-needs children are just like other kids in many, many ways. They love to eat cake and ice cream and play games like "hot potato." And they love presents, like the latest Sesame Street DVD, a Hannah Montana doll or a toy shopping cart.
Officers from the 7th Police District have been holding parties like the Dec. 12 event for local children for about 30 years. Originally, the district delivered gifts to Shriners Hospital each holiday season. When Shriners moved from the Northeast to North Broad Street, the district focused its efforts on needy schoolchildren in the area.
Several years ago, the district connected with the Fox Chase Champions, a 15-year-old sports program that is geared to disabled children and operates at the Fox Chase Recreation Center.
Though the district has changed commanders and community-relations officers numerous times over the years, the holiday party has remained a constant.
Current CRO Rich Simon and his wife Mary Ellen coordinated this year’s event for more than 70 children and their families. They solicited area businesses for goods and services. Conroy Catering supplied the venue, Knowlton Mansion, while Target offered discounts on gifts for the children. Many other local businesses and organizations also gave support.
"Richie Simon spends literally weeks and weeks preparing for this," said Capt. Joe Zaffino, commander of the 7th district. "Knowlton Mansion has been incredible with their generosity and Target helped us out a lot."
"It was fun buying presents for the kids," Simon said.
Other police districts also host community parties, said Zaffino, who was appointed to the 7th district in August. But this one is definitely unique.
"They have parties in other districts, but this has special meaning," the captain said. "The kids come in, you look around and you see the looks in their eyes. They’re all having a good time."
The parents agreed wholeheartedly, including the mom of 11-year-old Taylor Garfield.
"She loves it. We love it. Everybody is having a ball," said Pat Garfield. "The music is great. The food is great. And the clowns . . . everybody is having a wonderful time."
"It’s very nice to have a fun gathering instead of our typical therapies and surgeries," said Jennifer Bonawitz, mother of 2-year-old Vanessa. "It’s something I would definitely look forward to for years to come."
According to Matt McDonald, founder of Fox Chase Champions, events like last week’s party are an ideal fit with his organization’s mission to help challenged children develop physically and socially.
"It’s not just fun for kids," McDonald said. "It’s important for them to develop social skills, gain confidence and get a sense of accomplishment."
Meanwhile, the party gives police officers, past and present, an opportunity to spread goodwill in the community.
Former 7th district CRO Rich Gudknecht retired from the department 10 years ago, but he still helps out at the party every year.
"It shows we’re human and we take an interest in people," Gudknecht said. "To me, it was always more fun than work. It’s putting a party on."
Zaffino similarly gets a good feeling from the festivities.
"I’ve never seen an event where the police department puts something together with the community and there’s a lack of attendance or something," the commander said. "It always works." ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com