EATON — On Wednesday, Dec. 4, Preble County Victim Witness presented the Fraternal Order of Police, Floyd E. Spitler Lodge #158 with a check in the amount of $525 for its upcoming Cops & Kids event .
According to Victim Advocate Jenni Baker, these funds were raised through their Victim Witness 5K this past fall.
“At our annual 5K that was held in September we had a raffle and all of the money raised from the raffle we dedicated to Cops & Kids. We raised $525,” she said. “[We did this] because it is a great program and it is our way of supporting local law enforcement and the things they do.
“We work together to help the community and victims within the community. [In fact], some of the families that are participating this year are families [we] have worked with through the Victim Witness Program.”
In the future, an additional way to support Cops & Kids is by supporting the annual Victim Witness 5K, as proceeds from their raffle do benefit the program.
The Cops & Kids event helps families from all over the Preble County community. On the day of the event, the families will meet for dinner and receive a visit from Santa Claus. The selected families will then go shopping with FOP members for all the necessities: jackets, clothes, shoes, socks and any other clothing items they are in dire need of. With any remaining funds, they may purchase gifts for their family.
The families chosen have found themselves fallen on hard times, but pull together to make ends meet. All the gifts purchased during the Cops & Kids event are made possible by the members of the FOP and donations from citizens and businesses throughout Preble County.
“This is a great opportunity for kids to realize that cops are here to help them. They are not just there to enforce the laws, but also to protect them,” Baker said.
According to FOP President Captain Brad Moore, donations determine how many kids can be accepted into the program.
“[Donations] mean a lot, because 100 percent of the proceeds go to that night’s event. Everything we raise on a yearly basis goes to that night and that determines how many kids we can take. Our donations are up this year, so in turn we’re able to take more kids and help more families,” Moore said.
“The community support has been fabulous. This year, Vancrest is donating the catered meal we have. The community support could not be any better, it is great. That is Preble County businesses and people helping Preble County kids.”
The event will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 11, in the evening. Donations are still being accepted. If interested in donating, checks can be dropped off to the Preble County Sheriff’s Department, attention Captain Brad Moore.
According to Moore, any donations that are made too late to be credited to this year’s event will be marked for next year.
“I just want to thank everybody that donated this year and past years, we couldn’t do it without all the community support from businesses and organizations like Victim Witness,” Moore said.
