A Warren County mother's green Chevrolet SUV was hard to miss as it traveled along local roads in Washington Township.

Police officers throughout the past month had noticed the driver's side rear door was damaged, causing it to pop out and needing a rope to keep it shut. Still, a gap of a few inches allowed rain and cold air to seep through. A rear tire also was going bald.

Washington Township police Lt. James Teter said officers had wanted to stop the vehicle's owner, who he declined to identify, on several occasions, but had been busy with other calls at the time.

"We would see it on and off duty," Teter said. "Officers just hadn't been able to be free to pull it over."

Making spirits bright

In recent weeks, officers banded together and decided to do something about the vehicle. The mission was to surprise the vehicle's owner and fix it in time for the holidays.

Officers were able to track the vehicle information and find the owner's home. On Saturday morning, they showed up at her doorstep with the surprising good news.

Her and her family's reaction were priceless, Teter described.

"We see so many people during bad times in their lives and it was wonderful to see pure spirit and happiness," Teter said.

He said it was either fixing the vehicle or having to remove it from the road because it was too unsafe to drive -- and officers didn't want the latter approach.

"We wanted to take this problem off her shoulders," Teter said. "It was the right thing to do."

Police never really learned why the vehicle's owner never had the funds to repair the vehicle, but did know it was costly, ranging upward of $2,000 to fully repair. The woman has three elementary-aged children to care for, police say.

The department was able to gain a donation from Port Murray Auto Salvage in Mansfield Township for a replacement passenger door. STS Car Service Center in Washington donated a new rear tire. And Stew's Auto Body in Washington worked to install the new equipment.

As mechanic Todd Unangst worked on Saturday, the vehicle owner's children toured the municipal building with officers. Officers then gave the owner a $100 gift card they bought with their own money for Christmas presents for the three young children.

Today, members of the Washington Township Police Department gave back to the community for Christmas 2015. Officers... Posted by Washington Township Police Department on Sunday, December 20, 2015

Police posted photographs of the effort on the department's Facebook page and the community was quick to give their actions the thumbs up with 1,850 "liking" the post and 275 people sharing it by Tuesday morning. Hundreds posted comments.

"Proud of my brothers in blue!," posted Bill Slack.

"Amen and we need to see more of the good! Thank you officers for helping this mom out!! Merry Christmas!," posted Meloney Garrett.

"Great job Washington police bringing back the true Christmas spirit," posted Kerri Mosher Caldaro.

Connecting with a community

Connecting with residents is an important part of the jobs of police officers, Teter said.

"We want people to know that our commitment to our community is strong and it's about keeping connected with everyone that we serve and helping out when and where we can," he said.

In past years, officers have stepped up and bought lunch for war veterans, repaired garages for the elderly and helped Shop Rite customers loading groceries into their trunks. An officer more recently responded to a flood in a property owner's basement, helped in getting the water turned off in the street and then pitched in with mopping up all the water, Teter said.

And those are just a few examples, Teter said, noting, "I could go on and on."

He added the officers get just as much out of their altruism as those on the receiving end.

"Our profession is not all about cops and robbers, its about being part of the community and giving back when we can," he said. "We all have a stake here."

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.