As summer comes to an end and kids are heading back to school, local law enforcement officers are ramping up plans for the 2024 Shop with a Cop event to be held in December.
To make the event a success and cover costs for children to participate in Shop with a Cop, local law enforcement is seeking financial support from the community. Trooper Chandra Baughman of Pennsylvania State Police, Troop C Clearfield and Assistant Chief Julie Curry of Clearfield Regional Police Department are coordinating the effort on behalf of the officers that protect our communities.
Earlier this year, the Shop with a Cop program partnered with the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation to create an endowment fund to cover event expenses and provide long-term financial stability to grow the program for future years.
Modeled off a national program, the main goal of Shop with a Cop is to provide a Christmas shopping experience for children in financial need or those who have other special needs. The positive long-term outcome in matching a child with a local law enforcement officer for a Christmas shopping experience is to build a relationship of trust between law enforcement, the child and their family members.
Assistant Chief Curry said, “Once a kid has a positive experience with one of our officers and gets to know them personally, if they have a problem or are in trouble later on, they will be comfortable contacting that officer for help and advice”. Trooper Baughman added “we want the kids to see that police officers aren’t someone they should be afraid of or intimidated by, but are someone who is friendly, approachable and ready to help when they need it”.
Reaching out to individual and business donors from the community, the following donation levels would help to insure all eligible children from Clearfield, Curwensville and other communities in Clearfield County would be able to participate in the 2024 Shop with a Cop event.
LEVEL 1 – Sponsor a Child for $150, LEVEL 2 – Event Sponsor for $500 to cover 3 children plus help cover other costs of the event, and LEVEL 3 – Corporate Sponsor for $1,000 to cover several children and associated costs plus some funds will be set aside in the endowment fund for future years. Smaller donations are also appreciated and will be combined to cover costs for individual children to participate.
All donations to the Shop with a Cop Fund with the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation are tax deductible, and donors will receive an acknowledgement letter for their tax filing. Donation checks made payable to “CCCF – Shop with a Cop Fund” can be mailed to: Clearfield County Charitable Foundation, PO Box 1442, Clearfield PA 16830. Online donations can be made at www.clearfieldcharitablefoundation.org by clicking the link “DONATE TO SHOP WITH A COP FUND” Online donations will be processed through a secure PayPal account.