COLUMBUS, Neb. -- A police department in Platte County is making sure local children have a holly jolly Christmas.

The Columbus Police Department is holding their Santa Cop campaign event this weekend.

Officer Troy Urkoski is in charge of organizing the campaign and told News Channel Nebraska that the campaign is designed towards helping children and families throughout the City of Columbus.

"Santa Cop is a program that we do where we fill some needs for some families and some kids that might have a little bit of a hard time during Christmas time," Urkoski said. "It's an opportunity for the kids to come in and see us in a positive light and then Santa Claus can come and visit, and everyone has a good time."

The program is helping around 20 children, this year, have an unforgettable Christmas.

In the past, the program has helped up to 50 kids in the Columbus community.

Columbus police officers will shop for toys and clothing items for the children and take donations from the public.

Officer Urkoski said the department wants to give back to the community, especially during a difficult time of the year.

"We've seen a need. This time of the year is hard and stressful for a lot of people anyway. We help some families where the family may not have gotten many gifts for Christmas," he said. "When we do it, we see the smiles on their faces and some of them get pretty excited. They really enjoy it and we start building a little bond with these kids."

He added that the gift-buying process begins in November.

Though it's a lot of work to put the event together, officers always know that the outcome is worth the effort.

"It's fun. It motivates you to want to do it every year. I enjoy it and a lot of the officers that participate have been doing it since the beginning," Urkoski said. "It makes you feel good, the kids enjoy it, and when you see the response from these kids it makes you know we're doing something good."

Though the event will be taking place over the weekend, the Columbus Police Department is still taking toy and clothing donations for charities around the city.

If you're interested in donating, you can call the Columbus Police Department at 402-564-3201.