DeBARY, Fla. — Walking the beat sometimes means handing out a couple bucks. Somebody ran out of gas. A homeless person needs a bite to eat.

Community boosters in west Volusia County noticed deputies quietly reaching into their pockets more than a few times to help people in need as COVID-19 continues to choke Central Florida’s economy.

So the Knights of Columbus, Council 13571, at St. Ann’s Catholic Church and the DeBary City Council recently teamed up to help Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies based in DeBary’s substation.

The city contracts with the Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services.

The knights and the city each chipped in $250, raising $500 for gas and gift cards for deputies to hand out to people in need.

Each card is worth $25, said Shari Simmans, DeBary’s public information officer. The goal is to help homeless and stranded individuals.

“Our first responders demonstrate their humanity day after day and this donation will make it easier for them to provide critical resources to those most in need,” DeBary Mayor Karen Chasez said in a statement.

Al Ducharme, a Knights of Columbus member, told DeBary city council members Wednesday the effort aligned with his organization’s focus on charity.

“We saw that the deputies in our substation (were) taking their hard-earned money out of their pockets in order to give it to [people] they ran into during their shifts,” Ducharme said Wednesday. “And we felt as a charitable thing to do for our community was to come up and buy gasoline cards and gift cards, so that they would not have to take money out of their own pockets, so they could give it to these people during the odd hours of the night.”

He gave the gift cards to the city during a brief presentation at a DeBary City Council meeting Wednesday.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood appreciated the contributions and pledged to log each gift card so everyone knows who received cards and how they were used.

“You know, one of the great things of living and working in Volusia County is the fact that we're always looking out for other people,” Chitwood said. “And I'm not telling anybody here anything you don't know. It's tough enough as it is without COVID-19 having struck our community. And we are seeing more and more people that are reaching out for help, especially at this time of year.”