Local first responders, Whataburger team up for annual Blue Santa fundraiser

Published 5:35 am Friday, December 6, 2024

DKT Investments, a Whataburger franchisee, kicked off the holiday season Tuesday evening with its annual fundraiser to support Blue Santa programs across East Texas.

Held at all 23 local Whataburger locations, the event brought the community together to raise funds for a cause that helps local children in need experience a memorable shopping spree with law enforcement officers and first responders.

Every December, local first responders host the fundraiser “Oh! What-A-Night” to fund the annual shopping spree at Walmart for children chosen by local law enforcement officers. Each child receives $100 to spend while shopping with law enforcement officers and first responders at Walmart locations across East Texas.

“It started about six years ago when we began doing fundraisers for officers, with the funds going to support their Blue Santa organization,” said Nicole Jones, Director of Marketing for DKT Investments. “Over time, the initiative grew to include all our communities.”

They partner with 23 Whataburger locations including Tyler, Lindale, Chapel Hill, Henderson, Kilgore, Liberty City, Gilmer, Chandler, Mineola, Bullard, Whitehouse, and Pittsburg.

“This tradition has continued, helping them provide gifts and take less fortunate children shopping,” Jones said. “Some of our volunteers even help with shopping on one of the designated nights.”

This is the sixth year the Whataburger franchisee will support Blue Santas, impacting Camp County Christmas for Kids, East Texas Fraternal Order of Police, Henderson Police Department, Tyler Patrolman, Upshur County, and Wood County Blue Santa programs.

“We believe the work they do is incredibly important to our communities — protecting us, saving us, and helping us in ways we often don’t even realize,” Jones said. “We just want to give back to them. By supporting this, they’re able to take a child shopping, which brings them so much joy. To me, that is one of the most important aspects of the entire experience.”

The franchisee does fundraisers year-round for schools and other organizations, but the Blue Santa event is the biggest fundraiser. According to Jones, in all 23 stores last year, they raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $17,000.

“We raise a lot of money in a two-hour time frame and it’s easy,” she said. “You get to enjoy Whataburger, knowing that half of the sales is going to help kids go shopping.”

Blue Santa started in 1972 in Austin, when officers on a routine patrol saw families struggling during the Christmas season.

“They just saw an opportunity to make a difference,” said Sgt. Chuck Boyce of the Tyler Police Department. “They kind of kept up with some of these kids … and went and got a few Christmas presents put in the back of their patrol car, and the night of Christmas, they stopped at all these houses and delivered the presents to the kids. Blue Santa has just evolved pretty much nationwide.”

Blue Santa began in Tyler in 2007, and the program has continued to build relationships between kids and law enforcement in East Texas. Boyce, who is also the Tyler Blue Santa organizer, sees firsthand the challenges people go through during the holiday season.

“Some of these kids I’ve known for 7, 8, 9 years,” Boyce said. “Things don’t typically get better each year. It’s a struggle, especially during these times.”

Many people see police officers as enforcers, focusing only on writing tickets or making arrests.

“Ninety-five percent of what we do is de-escalating situations and helping people work through problems,” Boyce said. “I’ve witnessed thousands of car accidents and disturbances, and we step in, calm everyone down, and help them navigate those moments of frustration. It’s in these small events that people realize we’re human too. By handling situations with care and treating others the way we’d want to be treated, we form lasting connections. It’s a great job.”

When Tyler first started, they would take 10 or 15 kids, with about 10 or 12 officers showing up. They kept it small. Around 2014, Boyce took on the role of organizing Blue Santa.

“Somehow I stepped on and I became a little bit in charge of it and was like, ‘hey, we can do this a little bit better,’” Boyce said.

Boyce turned to social media and used his connections. As someone involved in outreach, he reached out to firefighters, EMTs, and businesses. Large companies began donating money, and their employees came to help.

“We’ve really created our own Hallmark movie here in Tyler, Texas,” Boyce said. “There aren’t many places like this where people genuinely say ‘hello’ and mean it, or wish you a ‘good day’ and actually care. People here look out for the less fortunate, stop to give you a boost when you need a jump start, or help you open a car window when you lock your keys inside. We’ve got good things going on here in Tyler.”