By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Nine-year-old Zoey Hoodlebrink was shocked to see a string of law enforcement and fire vehicles pull up in front of her home Tuesday after school.
The officers came up to her front porch carrying a bag of Christmas gifts and a box of groceries.
“I didn’t know there were going to be so many people,” said Zoey, a third grader at Conneaut Elementary School.
Officer Robin Short gave Zoey a hug and took a selfie with her.
Zoey didn’t rip into the presents, preferring to wait until the crowd of officers dispersed.
“She’s shy,” her mom, Heather Hoodlebrink said. “This is so nice of them.”
Zoey’s home was the first of 13 stops on Tuesday for the Cops and Kids program, bestowing gifts and groceries for a total of 42 children in Bowling Green, Portage, Rudolph, Weston and Tontogany. Making the deliveries were officers with Bowling Green Police Division, Bowling Green Fire Division, BGSU Police and Ohio State Patrol.
The annual program, organized by Dan Van Vorhis of the Fraternal Order of Police, is handing out presents to 167 children this year. The families are referred to the program by school officials or law enforcement who see a need.
Van Vorhis said he just got a call for a late addition to the list from a police officer who visited a home for less pleasant reasons.
“He called and said, ‘I was just at a house where there are five kids and they’re destitute. Can we shop for them?’” They were, of course, added to the list, Van Vorhis said.
The Cops and Kids program gives children the opportunity to have different, positive interaction with law enforcement, Van Vorhis said.
“Just watching the kids’ faces light up when they see the presents,” makes the program worthwhile, he said.
Normally, the Cops and Kids program involves local law enforcement officers going shopping with children. But during the last two holiday seasons, due to the COVID pandemic, the gifts were brought directly to the children’s homes.
On Monday, law enforcement went to homes in Perrysburg, Perrysburg Township, Rossford, Lake Township and Northwood. On Wednesday, they will go to homes in the Elmwood and North Baltimore area.
Also different this year, the Cops and Kids program is going beyond the children.
“This year we’re taking care of whole families,” Van Vorhis said. So in addition to toys, the law enforcement and fire personnel delivered groceries, clothes and cleaning supplies.
The type of items requested by kids have shifted a bit this year, according to Van Vorhis. Top on the list for several children were board games, bikes, bedding and toiletries.
Hock’s Bike Shop in Grand Rapids worked on 60 bikes to donate to the program – putting on new seats, handlebars, tires, and getting them road worthy, according to Ohio Highway Patrol Sgt. Ryan Purpura.
“That’s just a nice thing to do since some kids don’t get a lot at Christmas,” he said.
Purpura recalled shopping with children in previous years of the Cops and Kids program. Stuck in his mind was a 4-year-old boy who didn’t steer directly to the toy section.
“He went and got socks and underwear. That broke my heart,” Purpura said.
The Cops and Kids program allows patrol officers to have contact with children other than just during traffic stops.
“It’s nice to engage kids in a different way,” Purpura said.
