Wednesday, December 18, 2024–11:57 a.m.

-David Crowder, WRGA News-

Law enforcement officers who are members of the Coosa Valley Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 14 will once again be shopping for deserving kids in the community this Christmas.

According to Chris Fincher, this is the last week of fundraising for the Christmas with a Cop program.

“We are asking for help from the public,” he said. “Our fundraising this year has been a little slim, so we are asking for help. We have a couple of links on our Facebook page if you want to look for Coosa Valley FOP Lodge 14, that’s Fraternal Order of Police.”

Fincher said Christmas with a Cop has traditionally helped between 50 and 70 kids each year over the past 20 years.

“We’re talking about thousands of kids that have come through our program.” He added. “It’s nice to hear stories sometimes after folks have graduated, have grown up, gotten jobs, and have kids of their own and they will approach you and say ‘You don’t remember me, but….’ That’s always really nice to hear.”

Officers will be at Walmart through Saturday, so stop by and say ‘hello.’

“We have some t-shirts that we are going to be selling,” Fincher said. “We will also be taking donations. We can take cash or credit cards if you want to stop by.”

Fincher said the Fraternal Order of Police works closely with the local school systems each year.

“We don’t ever take applications,” he noted. “We get nominations through our school systems. Our counselors and social workers are living eight hours a day with these kids and they know where their needs are at. We trust our school systems to give names every year.”

Again, you can make a donation via the organization’s Facebook page.