CLEARFIELD – Officers from the Pennsylvania State Police, Troop C Clearfield Barracks and the Clearfield Regional Police Department are joining with the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation on a community partnership endowment fund to benefit children in Clearfield and surrounding communities.
The Shop with a Cop Fund established with the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation is ready to accept donations now.
Interested donors can visit www.clearfieldcharitablefoundation.org and follow the steps on the main CCCF webpage to do a secure donation via credit card or donation checks made payable to “CCCF – Shop with a Cop Program Fund” can be mailed to Clearfield County Charitable Foundation, P.O. Box 1442, Clearfield PA 16830.
Shop with a Cop is a nationally-known program organized locally by law enforcement officers to focus on underprivileged children and families within local communities.
The program sponsors an annual Christmas holiday shopping event where police officers are matched up with a local child as they shop for items from their Christmas wish list.
Earlier this year after assuming the lead role to establish a Shop with a Cop Program for the Clearfield area covered by Troop C – Clearfield barracks, PSP Trooper Chandra Baughman contacted the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation to oversee the endowment fund side of the program.
Over several months, Baughman worked with CCCF Executive Director Mark McCracken on the details for an endowment fund to handle incoming donations and disburse the funds to pay for the annual Shop with a Cop event.
Baughman and McCracken researched a similar program operated in Somerset County by the PSP partnering with the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies.
Following completion of the draft agreement, the CCCF Board of Directors unanimously approved the partnership agreement at their April 25 meeting.
McCracken said, “The Charitable Foundation Board of Directors saw the Shop with a Cop program as a great opportunity to work with local law enforcement while supporting needy children and families in the area.
“A main part of the mission of the Charitable Foundation is supporting programs and projects that focus on children’s needs and making their lives better.”
Baughman said, “The Clearfield County Charitable Foundation was already an established 501c3 charitable organization and was able to step in and provide the financial management side we needed.
“The Charitable Foundation has a solid reputation in the community and their 501c3 status allows donors to legally claim a charitable deduction when donating to the Shop with a Cop Fund. Without the partnership, we would have had extra work and the expense necessary to acquire our own 501c3 designation.”
To help make the project a success, the Clearfield Regional Police Department is also joining the group effort.
Assistant Chief Julie Curry said, “Our department welcomed the invitation from Trooper Baughman and the Pennsylvania State Police to partner in the Shop with a Cop program.
“Chief McGinnis and the other officers with the Clearfield Regional Police Department recognize the positive outcomes that happen when we work directly with young children and their families.”
Trooper Baughman agreed, “To have an officer chaperone a child at the community Christmas event builds fellowship and trust, not only with the child, but the entire family. Over time, this builds stronger relationships between the community and the officers charged with protecting them.”
In the coming weeks, law enforcement officers will be doing community outreach seeking donations to support the 2024 Shop with a Cop event.
While all donations will be appreciated, any individual or business who donates $150 will receive a yard sign showing their support for the Shop with a Cop program. A $150 donation will cover the shopping experience for an individual child.
McCracken stated, “Our Web site at www.clearfieldcharitablefoundation.org is set up now to accept secure credit card donations or donors can mail checks made payable to “CCCF – Shop with a Cop Program Fund” to Clearfield County Charitable Foundation, P.O. Box 1442, Clearfield PA 16830.
“All donors will receive an acknowledgement letter that will include the necessary information to claim the charitable tax deduction.”
Once adequate funding is raised, detailed plans for the 2024 event to be held in December at Clearfield WalMart will be announced.
Baughman added, “We will be working with local schools and child advocacy agencies to identify the needy children who will be invited to participate in the event.”
McCracken concluded, “Once everything falls into place for 2024, we should have a positive event this Christmas that will grow and get better every year.”
