TIFFIN — “Officer Santa” will be parking his sleigh for the final time later this month. Officer Santa, otherwise known as Juan Santiago, has kicked off his 25th and final Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP) Annual Christmas Drive seeking toys and other gifts for children and teens victimized by domestic violence situations.
Santiago, a North Liberty police officer and owner of SYNcere Printing, LLC in Tiffin, moved to Iowa in December 1992, after serving in the United States Marine Corps. A year later he began working with the Promise Jobs program and was introduced to the services being provided to many of his clients through DVIP. “As a young teen and someone who experienced domestic violence first hand, I remembered that often times some of the gifts we (my two brothers and sister) received during the holidays were gifts obtained through some of the services offered to low income families like mine in our area so in November of 1994 I decided I would reach out to DVIP to see if I could help,” he said.
While DVIP couldn’t be specific about the kids and teens being helped by their agency, they were able to provide him with an idea of what they could use. “The weekend before Christmas I met up with DVIP staff at the Kmart parking lot and donated brand new gifts for about eight or nine kids. I did it again the following year. By November of 1996 enough people had heard about what I did and offered to add to the donations. This is why I consider 1996 the starting point of the DVIP Christmas Drive.”
When Santiago began collecting donations from the community he decided to ask, and ensure, none of the gifts were violence oriented or natured. “I didn’t want any violence reminders or triggers on a day when we’re all supposed to be happy.” Any violence-oriented toys, games or action figures donated have always been accepted, he said, but are separated from the drive donations and given to other worthy efforts within the community such as Goodwill.
During the first few years of the drive Santiago collected new and used toys. However, he realized teens being helped by the DVIP shelter were being left out (too old for toys). “I then decided to contact the shelter to see how many teens needed to be included, and by the delivery date I ensured there was a $15 gift card from Kmart, which at the time meant they could buy a music CD. Several years later as cash donations began coming in, we increased the gift card value to $25 (cost of a DVD). Eventually we raised the value of each gift card to $50 (cost of a video game).”
In addition to physical items, monetary donations are also welcome and are used to purchase additional gifts.
The drive runs until Dec. 18.
DVIP Annual Christmas Drive donation locations
Tiffin
Tiffin City Hall
SYNcere Printing, LLC
Coralville
Stratton Center (Probation/Parole Offices)
Coralville Police Department
Lotus Salon
Bachmeier Carpet One
Iowa City
Dodge Street Tires
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
Johnson County Attorney’s Office
University of Iowa Department of Public Safety
Iowa City Police Department
North Liberty
North Liberty Police Department
North Liberty Recreation Center
North Liberty Library

Gallery • 2 Photos

Juan Santiago