FOP aids families through Shop With A Cop event
Published 6:00 am Friday, December 13, 2024
Smiths Grove Police Department Sgt. Rick Bessette speaks with a group of kids during the Bowling Green Fraternal Order of Police’s Shop With A Cop event on Tuesday at Meijer.
With Christmas drawing ever closer, the Bowling Green Fraternal Order of Police on Tuesday organized a Shop With A Cop event at Meijer in Bowling Green. Participants had $100 to spend on Christmas presents for their children. Mike Nade, FOP president, said around 50 families participated in the event, something FOP staged previously to help with back to school shopping.
Sophia (left) and Carson Tolli look at toys during the Bowling Green Fraternal Order of Police’s Shop With A Cop event on Tuesday at Meijer.
First grader Zemiyen Robinson browses in one of the toy aisles at Meijer during the Bowling Green Fraternal Order of Police’s Shop With A Cop event on Tuesday.
With Christmas drawing ever closer, the Bowling Green Fraternal Order of Police on Tuesday organized a Shop With A Cop event at Meijer in Bowling Green. Participants had $100 to spend on Christmas presents for their children. Mike Nade, FOP president, said around 50 families participated in the event, something FOP staged previously to help with back to school shopping.
Store associates at Meijer in Bowling Green ring up purchases for participants in the Bowling Green Fraternal Order of Police’s Shop With A Cop event on Tuesday. Participants had $100 to spend on Christmas presents for their children. Mike Nade, FOP president, said around 50 families participated in the event, something FOP staged previously to help with back to school shopping.
For Smiths Grove Police Department Sgt. Rick Bessette, participating in Shop With A Cop means more than seeing kids get presents. For him, it’s an opportunity to “be shown in a positive light.”
“Most of the time, when we have contact with people, it’s their worst day,” Bessette said. “These events are positive. There’s no negativity involved.”
Shop With A Cop was held Tuesday night at Meijer in Bowling Green. Around 50 participants were present, mostly children, and were given $100 tax-free to spend on Christmas gifts.
The event was put on by the Bowling Green Fraternal Order of Police. FOP President Mike Nade said FOP has been organizing Shop With A Cop for around 15 years, and the money given to participants came from donations to the organization and from Meijer.
Along with the event on Tuesday, FOP sponsors a similar event in late summer to help kids get supplies for the coming school year.
“It’s very important for us to have these opportunities with kids,” Nade said. “We want to be something they can turn to.”
Participants in the event were encouraged to use the money provided to get items for their children. However, not every child picks out things for themselves.
“We see a lot of kids that have great hearts and they want to get a grandma something or their parents something, because they see that they don’t get the things that they want,” Nade said. “You see a lot of really sweet kids that are just trying to help take care of their family as well.”
Abbey Kitchens, chief operating officer for the Bowling Green Boys and Girls Club, said Shop With A Cop is something the club has collaborated on for many years, choosing the kids who participate.
“It’s something our kids look forward to every year,” she said. “They start asking me around October when they get to shop with a cop.”
Along with Shop With A Cop, FOP is planning a food drive for families in need further on in December.
Families will receive food baskets containing items such as milk, chicken and assorted dry goods.
Nade said FOP will distribute the baskets Dec. 21, and will deliver them personally to recipients’ homes.
About Jack Dobbs
Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.
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