ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Some local children will get a chance to buy Christmas presents this Saturday at Walmart with the help of the Liberal Police Department.
Formerly known as Shop With A Cop, the event now known as LPD & Me Christmas will look to the event the department has had in previous years.
“Our staff will cook a delicious breakfast for the kids, officers and staff,” LPD Community Police Coordinator Dalanie Underwood said. “We will let everyone eat, and then we head over to Walmart and the shopping will begin.”
Along with the event’s new name, LPD & Me Christmas is under the direction of the newly formed non-profit, the Liberal Police & Community Association, and Underwood said the group is important not only to the community, but to the department and LPD & Me Christmas families.
“There are many families in our community who are experiencing hardships in their life, and this program gives us a chance to give back,” she said. “In smaller communities, it is hard for these families to receive the assistance and relief they need. Luckily that is not the case in Liberal, and our community is willing to lend a helping hand to a neighbor in need, and we are glad to have a program that allows us to do just that.”
The Liberal Police & Community Association has two fundraisers throughout the year for LPD & Me Christmas with its annual golf tournament in August and Arkalon Trail of Terror in October.
Underwood said money raised from those events and miscellaneous donations from the community are what keeps LPD & Me Christmas going.
This year’s Trail of Terror, however, was canceled due to weather, and as the department’s major fundraiser, Underwood said LPD & Me Christmas took a large hit from that cancellation. She did say, though, a large amount of community support, donations and Walmart Spark Good grant has helped make up for a portion of the funds lost from Trail of Terror.
“We knew no matter what happened, we would still continue with our LPD & Me Christmas, we just didn’t know what that would look like,” she said. “We have had an amazing amount of support from the community. We want to thank everyone for loving this program as much as we do.”
Underwood said Saturday’s event is what LPD works toward all year long.
“It is so rewarding to see it all come together and to see the joy on the kids’ faces as they are shopping,” she said. “It definitely makes all the hard work worth it.”
Underwood called helping children at Christmas a heartwarming experience.
“As I have said, it makes all the hard work worth it,” she said. “Our officers and staff strive to serve our community to best of our abilities on a daily basis and are always looking for ways to give back to our community that has always supported us, and this is a great way to do just that.”
Underwood said she did not have an exact number, but she did say officers are taking more than 60 children shopping this year. Naturally, she is excited for Saturday.
“As I have said, it is great to see the result of everyone’s hard work and be able to help families in our community who need it,” she said.
