When Rouse Home residents made some money from their monthly bake sales, they knew what they wanted to do with it.
The residents donated $187 from their October and November sales to Shop with a Cop to help more children enjoy Christmas.
Every dollar of that donation will go to buy things for kids, according to Warren County FOP Lodge 83 Treasurer Jason Woodin. “All money is used toward the kids. There’s not one dime used toward any type of paperwork or anything.”
Officers walk through participating stores — Walmart, Ollie’s, and Shoe Dept. Encore – with children, picking up whatever the children want within a certain budget.
Shop with a Cop events start Monday and there are more than 80 kids who will benefit from the program this year, Woodin said.
There have been about $17,000 in donations to the program this year – up from $14,000 in 2021 – meaning each child will have more than $200 to spend on toys, clothes, shoes, and even gifts for family members.
Through it all, they will be paired up with law enforcement.
“It’s a great program that we have here,” Woodin said. “We go out and have fun with kids and it’s a positive experience.”
“We take them shopping and then we go out to lunch with them,” he said. “It’s great to have that opportunity.”
The Fraternal Order of Police accepts referrals from a number of sources to get children into the program.
“Our main limit is how many police officers can we get there to go around with the kids,” Woodin said.
Anyone wishing to do so may make a donation by mail to: Warren County FOP Lodge 83, P.O. Box 15, Warren, PA, 16365.
Rouse Home Bakers (seated, from left): Irene Jensen, Dot Brendlinger, Mary Roberts, Ida Hopkins and Vera Kellogg, present a check for Shop with a Cop to (standing, from left) Youngsville Borough Police Chief Todd Mineweaser, Conewango Township Police Chief Jason Peters, Conewango Township Police Lt. Randy Carlson and Warren County Chief Detective Tom Kibbey.