The Oceanside Police Department gifted random citizens $100 cash as part of an initiative to give back to their local community.
A donor reportedly sponsored a Secret Santa project in 2021 and was so pleased with the results of that campaign that they gave California’s Oceanside Police Department an additional $20,000 to continue performing good deeds in the community, according to ABC News.
“I never thought of anything like that happening, it’s remarkable, takes your breath away,” said one lucky recipient, the outlet reported.
The donor who funded the campaign has not been named, but their $20,000 donation to the Oceanside Police Department is being stretched to help many community members in the local area. With so many people feeling the impact of the rising cost of groceries, these acts of kindness are going a lot way, according to ABC News.
Officer Jolena Sosa was one of two local police representatives who surprised shoppers by distributing envelopes containing $100 cash at a local Stater Bros. Markets in Oceanside, according to ABC news. (RELATED: Trump’s PAC Makes Its First Big Donation For 2022)
The reaction of the lucky recipients was caught on camera, with one particular woman so moved by the kind gesture that she struggled to fight back tears.
“Seeing that and seeing the impression I left her today with her daughter, it makes me feel good. It reminds me every day why I do this job,” Sosa said in the video.
The grocery giveaway was just one way the police department plans on giving back, ABC News reported. They plan to distribute the $20,000 they were given through monthly acts of kindness that span over the course of the next year.