A Charter Oak student donated all of her birthday presents to the West Hartford Police Department last month so that they could be distributed to needy children, but on Thursday the police showered her with gifts.

By Ronni Newton

At least 20 members of the West Hartford Police Department, including Chief Tracey Gove, stood at the entrance of Charter Oak International Academy Thursday just before noon – but their presence wasn’t due to a problem at the school.

Quite the contrary.

The surprise police presence had everything to do with a brand new purple mountain bike, with a shiny helmet hanging from its handlebars, that was parked in the school cafeteria at lunchtime.

The police were at Charter Oak with presents and thank you’s for Faith Brown, a fifth grade student who recently turned 10 and decided to donate all of her birthday presents to the West Hartford Police Department for distribution to needy children.

Faith’s new bike, helmet, and lock were donated by the Reach Foundation, and along with her new wheels Faith also received two 2017 season passes donated by Lake Compounce Amusement Park, gift cards donated by Chili’s, and a $250 Target gift card from the West Hartford Police Department. Local business owner Edward Hayes also donated a “Discover Scuba” pool experience for six at the Scuba Shack in Rocky Hill, an “Adventure Pass” for Faith and five of her friends at Brownstone Exploration in Portland, and a pair of lift tickets and ski lessons at Powder Ridge in Middlefield.

School Resource Officer Irene Leonard and Sandra Moutinho, a Charter Oak parent who works in the records division at the police station, wanted to be sure that the police recognized Faith and showed appreciation for her generosity. “For a 10-year-old to give up all her presents to kids in need is a big deal,” Leonard said.

“I knew I had more than I needed, and I want to help kids in need, make them smile,” Faith said. She was very surprised when the police, flanked by reporters, Mayor Shari Cantor, and Charter Oak Principal Juan Melián swarmed into the cafeteria and headed in her direction.

“I was not expecting it at all,” she said. Faith said that the new bike was “amazing” and she was very thankful to the police.

Faith’s mother, Liz Conran, was also surprised by the WHPD’s actions. All she had been told was to come to Charter Oak around noon.

Conran said that Faith had decided before her 10th birthday party that she wanted to donate all of her gifts. The guests were told in advance, and a total of three bins full of toys for children of all ages were collected. The toys were distributed to needy families in West Hartford as well as to patients at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

“She’s a wonderful kid, just amazing,” said Conran. “It just warms my heart and makes me very proud.”

Melián also said how proud he was of Faith. “This is the type of girl she is,” he said.

Although Faith’s generous act was completely her own idea, Melián did say that the school’s climate helps create the type of awareness Faith shows. “At Charter Oak the kids are looking at important topics, and they take action,” Melián said.

He also thanked the West Hartford Police Department for showing a great example to the school community.

Leonard told Faith that this time she couldn’t give any of the the gifts away, especially the Lake Compounce season passes which already have her name and her mom’s name on them.

“It’s probably my best Christmas ever,” Faith told the police.

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