Santa Claus is coming to town – with help from Murray River Police District officers - to deliver Christmas cheer to children spending the holiday period in hospital.
Launched in 2019, the Murray River Police District Children's Hospital Christmas Appeal is an initiative led by local police with assistance from Albury Wodonga Health, Victoria Police, and the Australian Defence Force.
Local businesses and the community have generously donated more than 600 gifts over the past six weeks.
Today (Thursday 4 December 2025), police officers and defence personnel loaded up New South Wales Police and Victoria Police cars, along with Australian Defence Force vehicles to deliver the precious gifts to Albury Base hospital, with the man in the big red suit leading the charitable convoy.
The gifts will be handed out on Christmas Day helping to bring a smile to those children doing it tough this festive season.
Any remaining gifts will be saved and donated to children throughout the year to brighten the day of any young person undergoing health battles.
Murray River Police District, Superintendent Paul Smith said local police are proud to lead the appeal and bring everyone together for a great cause.
" We are very lucky to live in such a wonderful and generous community. We had hundreds of donations including from the Twin City Classic Vehicle Club who generously donated $1500 worth of gifts to the appeal, only for the local ToyWorld to chip in another $300 to bring the total donation to $1800 worth of toys. This appeal is so important for kids who are really doing it tough and to bring a little bit of Christmas magic to their day," Supt Smith said.
"We know it wouldn't happen without the support of our police colleagues in Victoria and our ADF colleagues. It's not just the kids who enjoy their day, our officers really look forward to this event every year. We love the event so much, we even travelled all the way to the North Pole to bring Santa along, to deliver the gifts."
