Wadsworth City Police, Wadsworth City Schools and Wadsworth’s local Target helped to host the annual Cops & Kids event for disadvantaged youth on December 7. This event helps children in need throughout the community to enjoy a fun experience with officers, firefighters, and dispatchers while enjoying a pancake breakfast at Wadsworth High School and a shopping trip at Target.
Children, any age from kindergarten through sixth grade, are selected by their school counselors and administrators to come from Wadsworth, Rittman, and Doylestown to take part in the Wadsworth-hosted event. They start their morning off at 8:30 a.m., and the event lasts until about 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., depending on when everyone finishes shopping.
Students were paired with a chaperone, a volunteer, or a first responder to look after them during the event. Kids participate in activities with different safety force members. This year’s activities included a photo booth, therapy dogs, Christmas coloring, a letter to Santa, and a visit with Santa himself. After the kids ate their pancake breakfast provided by Water Maine Grille, they got to ride different safety vehicles throughout the square in downtown Wadsworth and all the way to Target. Students got a shopping spree for gifts of their choice with a $250 gift card.
Funding for the event comes from many donations throughout the community, this is all put towards the children and making the event the best it can be for them.
Doylestown Police Department and Rittman Police Department joined with their own Cops & Kids children for a joint event as well. In total, about 50 – 60 kids come throughout all districts each year. The event is run by the Wadsworth Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #45, as well as Officer Ben Smith and his planning team.
The kids are not the only ones who enjoy this event, but the volunteers as well.
“I love the community policing aspect of law enforcement and helping kids. It is extremely fulfilling and creates lifelong memories for them,” Smith said. “That is the major reason I wanted to become an SRO, to change lives for the better.”
Cops & Kids hopes to bring joy to everyone, the chaperones build relationships with the kids, and the kids get to fulfill wishes that could not be possible without the help of the volunteers and first responders.
“This event is my favorite out of all the community events that we do as an agency or FOP (Fraternal Order of Police),” said Katy Cindia, the Wadsworth 911 Emergency Dispatch Supervisor. “I love having the opportunity to make a connection with these kids and see the excitement on their faces when they find something they really want or that they want to buy for their parents or siblings. This year I chaperoned two wonderfully sweet sisters who colored and laughed during breakfast with me. At the store, they giggled and smiled over everything they found and couldn’t wait to show it to me. To me, this event is pure joy and love. It embodies the spirit of the Christmas season.”
Cops & Kids hopes to continue this event for the years to come, to continue helping the children and sharing smiles.
