A few weeks ago a local resident saw a Facebook post about doing something nice for some local officers.

“At first I just liked the post with a ‘thumbs up’ and started moving on with my day but for some reason I just couldn’t get that thought out of my head what a great idea it would to do this for the men and woman who serve and protect us in our town,” says Martin Welzmuller. “So as any husband would do he had to call the ‘boss,’ meaning my wife. When Giulia heard the idea she also thought it would be a great project for our family and from there we’re off to the races on making gifts for each officer in town.

“We didn’t know where to start so I stopped at the New Dollar store in Budd Lake and talked to the owner asking him for help and ideas,” he says. “We first had to find what we would put the items in and next was to find the tasty treats to fill the bags up with. Now I’m the guy who grabs everything in the store and then hand off the project to my wife and three kids Gabriella, 12, Brianna, 11, and my son Giovanni, 9.

“My wife Giulia took all of the items and looked them all over and came up with a story line for each small gift to help put smiles on their faces,” explains Welzmuller. The kits included items such as Smarties, gum, lollypops and other candy favorites.

“Once my wife Giulia was done with the Survival Kit notes we became a gift making machine making over 50 gifts for the MOPD and some for the state troopers in our town.”