By Micah Choquette
A longstanding tradition for more than 30 years, Sapulpa’s “Cops for Kids” program might look a little different this year, but the idea is the same: Sapulpa’s Fraternal Order of Police, in collaboration with the Sapulpa Rotary Club, goes out of their way to provide a positive experience for the families sorely in need of one during the holiday season.
This year, seven families, or a total of 25 kids, are getting a brighter holiday season thanks to the generosity of both of these groups. Rotarian Meredith Novak says the program is a chance to change a child’s perspective on the local police.
“A lot of times, their first interaction with police is on the worst day of their life,” she said. “This is an opportunity to have a positive interaction with these officers, who ultimately want the best for them and their families.”
Before 2020, the Cops for Kids program usually featured a group of officers and rotary members partnering up with each family and walking a shopping cart through the store, grabbing things that each family had on their list and placing them in their cart. It was fun, and interactive, but after the Coronavirus pandemic hit, the format changed. Last year, they simply delivered the gifts to the families’ homes. This year, they’re working their way back to a more traditional experience, by bringing all the families to the Senior Citizens center for pizza and pictures, before loading their cars up with gifts and food to send them home smiling.
Officers choose the families they’d like to see be a part of the annual celebration based on their own experiences with them throughout the year, and the families themselves can choose whether or not to participate.
“We just never want a kid, especially the older ones, to feel self-conscious or embarrassed about their situation,” Novak said.
Each family received presents, a box of food, a ham, and a pizza to bake at home after the pizza party at the Senior Center on Thursday night. All the accommodations were donated or paid for by Rotary and FOP business partners.
