082310 Shop With a Cop gives needy kids a reason to look forward to the first day of school

  • By Sharon Haught
  • August 18, 2010
  • 264
                        
Wayne County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Adam Chellis knows that there’s a need in the community during difficult economic times. He saw it every day in his capacity as the former DARE Officer for the Wayne County schools. So when the Wayne County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 94 and its president Marshallville Police Chief Tom Rocker decided to bring a Shop With a Cop program to Wayne County, Chellis jumped at the chance to volunteer to organize a back to school event for kids who otherwise might not have new backpacks, coats and shoes to start the new school year. Since the program launched in 2009, Chellis’ partner in this extraordinary endeavor has been Chris Trease, store manager for MC Sports on Wooster’s north end. “Without Chris we couldn’t have done it,” said Rocker. While Chellis and the other members of the Fraternal Order of Police work to secure donations from private individuals and local businesses, Trease and assistant manager Pam Beaire, worked with some of the top names in the sporting goods industry to obtain coats, shoes and backpacks at deep discounts. According to Trease, Beaire “took it on her own this year to call the buyers and make sure that we had the right amount of everything” including the right mix sizes and boys and girls items. “She was the person who went out and bought all the school supplies, got everything organized, got the backpacks filled and bought some other fun things,” said Trease. By the time Beaire was done, each of the children in this year’s Shop With a Cop program received a Columbia winter coat, a pair of Nike tennis shoes, socks, a water bottle, snacks provided by Frito Lay and a Nike backpack filled with notebooks, folders, pencil boxes, crayons, markers, pencils, rulers and other school supplies. MC Sports even add a $10 gift card and one of this year’s hottest new back to school accessories – Silly Bands. With everything in place, on the evening of August 15 MC Sports opened its doors to the 73 children in need identified by elementary school principals from throughout the county. Volunteers from MC Sports joined 21 officers from law enforcement agencies throughout the county including the Smithville, Apple Creek, Doylestown, Rittman and Marshallville police department, Medway, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Reserve who volunteered their time to assist the children. As they made their way through the store selecting the perfect back to school items the officers and children also forged the kinds of personal connections that are often tough to form given the circumstances under which they normally meet. “It conveys to the children that we’re not the boogie man,” said Rocker. “We have hearts. We want (them) to realize who we are, that we can be their friend.” While the Shop With a Cop program served approximately 50 children last year, the fact that the program grew to 73 participants this year is a reflection on the continued difficult economic times. Chellis would like to be able to reach even more children in need next year. “But then the other side of that is that it’s a sad commentary on the economy,” noted Rocker. “We would love to say there wouldn’t be any needy kinds and we wouldn’t have to do this,” said Trease. Until that happens MC Sports and the Fraternal Order of Police will be there. “When you grow you know there are more and more kids out there who need help. We’re willing to partner with them no matter how many kids,” said Trease.


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