Officers offer Christmas to under-privileged children
Published: December 10, 2007
Navigating the aisles of Wal-Mart during this time of year is like a ritual for one dynamic duo.
“It’s good, good friends.” Joey Bolton said.
This is the 5th year Topeka police officer Jason Garner has participated in Shop with a Cop, and for 3 of those years he’s teamed up with the same partner in crime, Joey.
“One of the volunteers said I was the only request this year, so it makes me feel pretty good,” Garner said.
But when Joey was asked what made Jason so special that he had to put in a request he couldn’t think of an exact reason.
“Ahhhh…I don’t know,” said Bolton. “I don’t know why he is special. I think he is special, I just can’t think of why.”
Well, that may be because Joey was focused on the task at hand.
He and the other children with Big Brothers, Big Sisters filled shopping carts with Christmas gifts for themselves or their family. Some had lists…checking them twice while others relied on memory to recall who has been naughty or nice.
“We picked out some pretty neat things,” Garner said.
And it’s this simple task that’s made Jason and Joey inseparable.
“To have a relationship with a child is very important for the community and to be a positive role model to somebody such as Joey, it means the world to me,” Garner said.
Organizers say the ultimate goal is to show to kids law enforcement officers are not always the bad guys.
“This puts the officers in a positive light…let’s them see that we are human,” said FOP Lodge No. 3 President Jack Mackey. “The uniform isn’t a barrier that they can’t come talk to us.”
And though these two share common interests, don’t count on seeing Joey dressed like Jason anytime soon.
“I’ve had my dream of becoming a computer programmer.” Bolton said.
The Fraternal Order of Police has provided under-privileged kids with holiday gifts for the last 15 years.
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: