ROGERS — She danced and visited with Santa, and picked a tea set and a miniature grocery cart from a table of prizes. But meeting Minnie Mouse was the highlight of the afternoon for Avelynn Collins, 5, of Centerton.
When her favorite character came around the corner, Avelynn broke into a wide smile and ran into her arms. Her green, sparkly dress was trimmed in the same white fluff as her idol.
“We were wearing the same dress,” Avelynn whispered later.
It was one of the moments volunteers with Sheep Dog Impact Assistance set out to build with a Christmas party for children of veterans, police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians at McAuley Hall on Sunday.
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance is a volunteer group that provides assistance to military, police, fire and other emergency personnel and their families.
The people who serve in the military are often the same ones who come home and work as firefighters or police officers, said Lance Nutt, founder and president of the group and a Marine Corps sergeant major.
“When people say ‘let’s help our veterans,’ why aren’t you saying ‘let’s help our police and first responders’ in the same sentence?” Nutt said.
Every traffic stop carries the possibility of injury, and that has to be on the mind of the officer involved, Nutt said. A fire call might be routine, but it could be children trapped in a burning building, he said.
“Those men and women are putting their lives on the line every day in unique ways,” Nutt said.
The jobs are not lucrative. A child with a sudden illness or the loss of one spouse’s job can mean a tough time paying for the holidays, he said.
On Christmas Day, Sarah Senty of Pea Ridge will be working her shift as a firefighter/emergency medical technician. Her children will open their presents without her.
The party was a way for Senty to make up for lost time. The children got to pick gifts when Santa sent them to a table full of toys and for their dance moves.
Senty works part-time as a firefighter and part-time with the Arkansas National Guard. The Pea Ridge Fire Department is small. It was all volunteer before last year, Senty said.
She’s going through eight weeks of fire training this spring, but that means she’ll have to miss work, plus she’ll have to pay for the training. The holiday program will let her save to cover expenses during the class.
Any first responder or veteran family, whether that person is retired or currently serving, can be referred through their agency for a Thanksgiving dinner and the top three Christmas wishes of each child. Last year the group added the party.
The flier she got promised a magical Christmas day, said Kristine Collins of Centerton, and it was. The family moved to Arkansas from Georgia and her children lost their father, who retired after 22 years of police service, around Thanksgiving. Christmas, Collins said, seemed overwhelming, but surrounded by a room full of strangers, the children laughed and played and Avelynn met the Disney characters she loved.
“I will be doing this next year to pay it forward to somebody else,” Collins said. “It’s good just to see them all smile.”