Sheriff praises Cars for Kids fundraiser, recognizes evidence, animal control and search-and-rescue teams

Sheriff Mark Danos told KWCD listeners that the Cars for Kids fundraiser raised over $75,000 for youth outreach programs and thanked sponsors and volunteers for supporting scholarships and services.

"We raised over $75,000," Danos said, noting the event's sponsors and volunteers and that about 70% of proceeds support the Boys & Girls Club while 30% fund internal outreach and scholarship programs. He highlighted auction items including an HVAC package that sold in increments, saying the item generated a $10,000 bid and the installation value was about $20,000.

Danos used the program to recognize county staff: evidence custodians KK, Ursula and Roy; animal control officers and their federal counterparts; dispatch staff; and search-and-rescue teams. "They're the supporting cast that makes it happen," he said of evidence custodians, and he called dispatch in Cochise County "the best dispatch center we've ever had" in his decades of experience.

He recounted a on-the-ground example of deputies helping return a lost dog to new residents after finding identifying information on the dog's collar, and he said the Sheriff's Office received a donation to its search-and-rescue team from an out-of-state border security expo fundraiser.

Danos encouraged community support for outreach events and thanked local businesses such as Berg Enterprises and Rightway for auction support. He framed the fundraising and recognition as part of a broader effort to sustain county programs that aid youth and public-safety outreach.