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GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY IN A NUMBER OF WAYS
Officers and Staff of the Oroville Police Department
are committed to making a difference in the lives of the citizens of Oroville.
To that end, besides their normal law enforcement activities, all have been
active in a number of ways to assist where assistance is needed. The following
is a list of activities in which the Oroville Police Department and the
Oroville Police Officer's Association, along with our Senior Volunteers,
have been involved.
League Team Sponsor
The Oroville Police Department employees, for eight years now, have sponsored
a Little League Team. Fees paid for the team sponsorship go to buy uniforms,
equipment, maintenance, and overhead. Officers have found this to be a good
community involvement activity, which exposes children to positive contacts
with the officers and staff of the Oroville Police Department. In addition,
many of the officers act as Coaches or Assistant Coaches, while others work
as Umpires. These activities allow officers to become acquainted with children
in a wholesome environment, with positive feedback for officers and children
alike.
Food Baskets
The Oroville Police Department employees, for a second year, gave food baskets
at Christmas to families who were identified by a school as needing assistance.
This year, four families were the recipients of food and toys for their children.
The baskets held food for a traditional Christmas dinner, as well as food items
to assist in food preparation for a longer period of time. Food items included
ham, potatoes, carrots, celery, canned corn, canned green beans, canned yams,
Wesson oil, cranberry sauce, mustard, mayonnaise, sugar, flour, coffee, hot
chocolate, canned sliced pineapple, jello, salt, pepper, olives, pickles,
margarine, bread, dinner rolls, milk, cake mixes, prepared icing, napkins,
along with 25 pounds of oranges specifically donated by Officer John Jones.
One family consisted of a mother and four daughters, whose husband/father is
serving in the Air Force in Saudi Arabia. A second family was a mother and
three children who desperately needed assistance. Another family was a mother
(whose paycheck did not go quite far enough) with five children ranging in ages
from 1 through 12 years. The fourth family included a grandmother, mother and
father (who worked when he could get the work), and seven children ranging in
ages from 3 to 11 years.
Shoes That Fit
In mid-April of 2001, members of the Oroville Police Officer's Association
joined forces with Shoes That Fit, to provide new shoes and new socks to
children in our local schools who desperately needed them. Meetings were
held with the principals of three schools, and Bird Street School, Eastside
School and Wyandotte Avenue School were subsequently "adopted" to spearhead
the project. Because of the success of the program, in January, 2002,
Oakdale Heights School was added to the list of schools receiving shoes
and socks under the Shoes That Fit program. Teachers notify the liaison
person within the school of potential children in need. The liaison talks
with the students, and if they qualify, measure them for a proper fit.
The liaison then notifies the police department of children who need shoes
and socks.
Members of the department, along with citizens in our community,
service organizations, and businesses have provided 617 pairs of new shoes
and 3,702 pairs of new socks to children who needed them since the inception
of the program. Many of the children come from single parent homes,
where the mother or father has enough money for rent, utilities and food,
but nothing left over for clothing. In one instance, a mother had recently
died, and the father was busy working, grieving, and trying to hold the
family together...shoes got overlooked.
Kudos have come from the children, parents, teachers and school staff for
the new shoes and socks. They note the new shoes have made a tremendous
impact on the lives of the children who receive them. Some children were
able to run track for the first time (running in shoes two sizes too small
makes it difficult), while others noted this was the first pair of new
shoes they had ever had. Many children indicated they never had socks
before. The teachers also noted an increase in the self esteem of the children
who had received new shoes, and stated many were doing better academically,
because they knew someone cared.
Shop with a Cop
The Oroville Police Officer's Association this Christmas sponsored its first
annual "Shop with a Cop" program to purchase Christmas gifts for children
in our local schools that would otherwise go without. Forty-five children
were selected from the various schools within the City limits of Oroville.
The children were taken to Wal-Mart, where they were treated to food,
compliments of Wal-Mart; then, with the assistance of Officers and Staff,
shopped for themselves and family members. Each child had a limit of $50
that they could spend.
This was a learning experience for everyone involved. Officers got to
know children when they helped them pick out presents. One theme that
seemed to run throughout, was that the children were not being selfish,
most of them bought for others, not themselves, and many of the items
purchased were needed items for everyday living. The children learned
more about officers. One young lady told an officer how surprised she
was to learn that officers were nice. She had always thought that
officers were mean. It was explained to her that officers at times
had to be mean, when they were making an arrest. The hearts of many
of the Wal-Mart employees were touched as well, when they heard some
of the comments made by the children as to what they were looking for,
and why.
Gifts were then wrapped by Wal-Mart employees at no expense. Funds for
this event came from the Oroville Police Officer's Association and
donations from the community. Because of the generosity of the citizens
of Oroville, we were able to invite more children than originally anticipated.
We are grateful to those who assisted us in this endeavor.
School Volunteers
On days off, officers and staff (who are also parents) are frequently
found volunteering their time in the schools, helping as Teaching Assistants,
or transporting children on field trips. Many officers and staff assist the
schools in a variety of fund raising events to provide additional funds for
the schools in our community. In addition, many attend career days at the
various schools to teach the children more about careers that are available
in law enforcement.
Caring for Women
Twyla Yates, another Senior Volunteer, has been instrumental in making us
aware of the needs of this organization which assists new mothers. As a
result, money has been raised and layette items have been given to assist
Caring for Women with their projects.
Food for the Mission
The Oroville Police Officer's Association noted the work of our Rescue Mission,
which assists children, women and men in need. We found that the Mission is
serving over 2,000 meals a month, and this year at the holidays served 215
Thanksgiving dinners, gave away 265 food boxes, and served 800 for dinner on
Christmas eve. We also found that the Rescue Mission, because of the needs
of local people, have a constant need for food items for the three meals a
day that they regularly serve, in addition to the food that they need during
the holidays.
The Oroville Police Officer's Association and a Senior Volunteer purchased
food to be utilized by the Mission when they held their Christmas dinner,
at the Municipal Auditorium for those less fortunate. This year we provided
50# of sugar, 50# of flour, salt, 6 cases of yams, 6 cases of cranberry sauce,
2 cases of #10 cans of green beans, 10 - 1.25 gallons of vegetable oil, 2 cases
of coffee, and a case of margarine.
Children and the Elderly
Pat Fore, one of our Senior Volunteers, in conjunction with the Fraternal Order
of Eagles 196 Auxiliary, collects children's toys, blankets for children, clothing
of all sizes, household goods, household furniture; as well as soaps, shampoos,
lotions, toothbrushes and tooth paste and other sundry items for the elderly.
Police vehicles are equipped with toys and blankets for small children with whom
we come in contact. Many of these children are being removed from the home, some
because they are victims of specific crimes, or perhaps being turned over to Child
Protective Services because their parents are unable to care for them. The stuffed
animals and blankets give the children comfort and they cling to them during those
trying times. Clothing, household goods and furniture frequently find their way
into families who have lost their homes due to fire or other catastrophes.
The elderly in care facilities in the Oroville area are recipients of soaps,
shampoos, lotions, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and other sundry items needed
by the elderly as well as pajamas, nightgowns, and bed jackets. At Christmas
time, about 5,000 toys are given to the various organizations hosting Christmas
parties or giving gifts to those less fortunate. These items are collected and
given to Pat for distribution, by members of the community as well as members
of the Oroville Police Department.
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