Kids receive free supplies at Shop with a Cop event

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) - When kids interact with a police officer, it may not always be for a good reason, which is why the Bowling Green Fraternal Order of Police makes it a point every year to reach out to them in a positive way.

For the 15th year in a row, FOP hosted its “Shop with a Cop” event (July 29) that provides local kids and teachers the opportunity to pick out back-to-school supplies at Meijer, free of charge.

“We don’t have a lot of uniforms (on). We have things that identify us as the police, but we come in on a more of a human level with these kids so they understand that it’s OK to come talk to us, (and say) ’hey, that’s the guy I shopped with last time,’ ” FOP President Shawn Helbig said. “So they know that we’re normal people, too.”

Each year, FOP works with resource coordinators from one city school and one county school to choose which children should attend.

A total of 35 students participated this year, 17 from Dishman-McGinnis Elementary School, and the rest from Warren Elementary.

They grinned when Helbig told them they’d each receive $150 to spend with the help of their family members, guardians and resource teachers.

“This is an opportunity that a lot of them have never had before,” said Erica Dowdy, resource coordinator at Dishman-McGinnis.

FOP members from several different law enforcement agencies were also on scene to assist with the shopping.

“Because inevitably one or two of (the kids) is gonna want to get a game or a toy,” Helbig said with a smile. “But what we’re here for is the back-to-school stuff.”

Dowdy says Shop with a Cop allows students to pick out their own supplies and clothes “to make them feel special and proud to be at school.”

“We got some long pants, shirts, and we also got new shoes,” said 8-year-old Oscar Bell, an incoming fourth grader at Dishman-McGinnis.

Bell filled up his cart with help from his parents Josh Bell and Amanda Smith, who says that thanks to the program, they’re able to get him everything he needs.

“Really good shoes (are) a very big deal for him,” Smith said. “Because he was actually born with clubfeet, and he’s had several surgeries on his feet, so having good shoes is really important for him. That really helps us out a lot, that’s a big one for us.”

The resource coordinators were also given $100 to spend on behalf of teachers at their schools.

“(I bought) highlighters and dry-erase markers. Those are usually things that teachers use a lot in their classrooms, and kids don’t typically bring those,” Dowdy said. “And pencils and pencil pouches.”

Dowdy attended the event for the second year in a row and says it is a “true blessing,” and that the students who participate are always excited.

“They will tell me they got to pick out their own special shirt, or something that mom wouldn’t usually buy them because they have their own money to spend.”

For Helbig, the best part of the event is watching the youngsters interact with the police, and helping local kids kick off the school year on “an even playing field.”

“A lot of the parents have already come up to us today and told us ’I’m raising my grandson,’ or I’m raising somebody that they couldn’t take care of, and this is really helping us because we wouldn’t have been able to afford this otherwise,” Helbig said. “And we don’t do it for that reason, but it’s nice to know that it’s appreciated.”

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Information from: Daily News, http://www.bgdailynews.com