Orana Mid-Western Police District staff donate toys and items for distraction boxes as part of their internal toy drive annually and deliver the gifts to children in emergency rooms across the district. 

“The idea being no one wants to be in hospital at Christmas time so there’s toys available for children and assist in keeping them occupied while they remain in hospital,” crime coordinator Sergeant Jill Gibson said.

The gifts are delivered to children on Christmas eve, which Sgt. Gibson said “sometimes brings a tear to the eye of nurses and police”. 

“It’s our way of saying thank you to the doctors and nurses working in emergency rooms over the Christmas period who are trying to make life a little easier for kids who are sick or injured.”

In previous years gifts have been given to children in Dubbo, Wellington, Narromine and Gilgandra hospitals among other hospitals in the district.