Kids join forces for Shop With a Cop
Published: July 8, 2008
Like many kids, Nick Novak doesn’t remember the gifts he got last Christmas, but he does remember presents under the tree.
Now the 7-year-old is joining forces with Kole Hendrickson, 11, to run a lemonade stand this Saturday to help make sure other kids have Christmas presents.
The pair also is joining forces with Mayor “Skip” Edwards and Fremont Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 37 to challenge other kids to sell lemonade on Saturday for the Shop With a Cop program.
“Help us help the other kids,” Kole said. “It’s fun and you get to help others. It’s a simple thing to do and you can change a life.”
Shop With a Cop is a program where FOP Lodge
37 raises money throughout the year to make Christmas a better time for underprivileged children. Off-duty officers take the children shopping at Wal-Mart Supercenter and spend $100 per child on winter clothing and an age-appropriate toy. Children are usually nominated by their schools and their families are invited on the shopping trip.
Edwards signed a proclamation marking July 12 as “Whet Your Whistle Day,” a day of challenge to area youth to run lemonade stands with Kole and Nick and donate the money to the Shop With a Cop program.
“I think any time our young people step up and support those less fortunate, it’s a good deal. I think we need to support it,” the mayor said, adding he admired that Kole and Nick wanted to challenge others to participate. “I think it would be nice if we could get a nice cross section of young people to do it. It shows responsibility on our young people’s part for stepping up.”
The boys and Edwards said they thought having the challenge during John C. Fremont Days might drive a few more people to participate.
Sgt. Bob Buer, president of FOP Lodge 37, thought a prize might help out with the challenge. He said the FOP will present the lemonade booth that turns in the most money by July 18 to dispatchers $50 in Chamber Bucks to be used at area merchants.
“It’s just awesome that other kids help raise funds for kids who don’t have as much as the rest of us,” Buer said. “That’s what (Shop With a Cop) needs. We can’t do this alone.”
This will be the fourth year Kole has run the stand outside his home at 428 W. 16th St. and the second that Nick will help out. Kole’s sister, Korri, 14, was a partner the first three years and in those three years more than $1,000 was raised through selling 25-cent cups of lemonade.
The boys said they learned the importance of helping others from their parents. In fact, Nick went to Costa Rica with his family on a church mission trip last year.
“I felt good when I did it,” Nick said. “You can help people.”
The boys said they have been spreading the word among their friends and hope the fundraiser catches on and that other kids want to help Shop With a Cop.
“You have it good even though sometimes you might not think you do,” Kole said. “I hope we can get a lot of money.”
Their lemonade stand will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, but there is no time limit on when competing stands can be open.
“We wanted to see if we could raise more money to help more people if other kids do it,” Kole said. “We don’t want to be in it all by ourselves.”
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