Shop with a Cop was a success

December 22, 2016 · 0 Comments

At 7 a.m. Saturday at the Walmart outlet near Mayfield and Bramalea Roads, officers of Caledon OPP teamed up with an equal number of young “buddies” for a shopping spree. Each team had a gift card of $113, and could purchase whatever the youngster wanted, including the necessity of at least one gift for him or herself.
After the shopping was done, and the gifts bagged for each shopper, the officers drove themselves and the youngsters were driven by bus to Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School. There, the gifts purchased earlier were wrapped by a group of volunteers, so that they could be picked up when the youngsters were collected by their parents just after noon.
While that was going on, Principal Tom Wisnicki, assisted by Mr. Zerdin, Ms. Magus, and Mrs. Fodaro, were serving a great breakfast, helped by a number of student volunteers.
Vice-Principal Christopher Letters was supervising more Hall student volunteers for various games, activities, face-painting, movies and the opportunity for a personal picture with Santa. The school’s AV crew made sure the system worked well, with carols on the PA system when movies were not on. A group of music students played enthusiastically, and other student volunteers were making sure the wrapped gifts were organized so that they could be collected efficiently at the right time.
Finally, when the pictures had been developed, and the gifts wrapped, the cops and their buddies collected them, and discovered additional gifts were there — including some special hats and slippers, made by Kathy Crowhurst, and a selection of books, plus some poinsettias from Alloa Public School.
Because the OPP are prohibited from controlling funds raised for this event, though they worked hard to solicit the generous donations which helped a lot, the Caledon Optimist Club acted as the banking organization, and so were privileged to be able to participate.
We salute all who gave so generously of their time and efforts — especially on a day when driving was not at its best — to make this event a truly special one for both the OPP and their buddies. We extend best wishes to all who were involved, for a joyous holiday, and a very healthy and happy 2017.
Ted Simmonds,
Caledon Optimist Club