Page 48 - APRIL 2019 FOP MAGAZINE

Tom McNamara, the officer in 014 who handles the district’s social media, was on furlough in Florida recently. But every time he looked down at his wrist, he was reminded of his passion for being a Chi- cago Police Officer.
The positive feeling McNamara had comes from wearing a black-and-blue woven bracelet on his wrist. The bracelet is the work of Kaylee Byers — an 8-year- old girl from Palmyra, Pennsylvania who makes these handcrafted loom bracelets to share her support for law enforcement across the world.
“It’s a nice reminder that we have sup- port. It also is a symbol of why we do this,” explains McNamara, who was the lucky recipient of one of Kaylee’s bracelets this March in 014. “We have this job to change people’s lives for the better and help peo- ple out.”
It was July 2018 when young Kaylee be- came the “Bracelets for Officers” girl on social media to spread her support with law enforcement. Kaylee’s mission began when she recognized the volume of offi- cers who were getting hurt or treated bad- ly just for doing their job.
“I was tired of police getting hurt and killed,” she shared. “One day, when I was loom-banding, I started giving loom bands to police officers.”
The “Bracelets for Officers” Twitter ac- count quickly spread among police de- partments throughout the country, Can- ada, and even as far as Australia. Soon, Kaylee and her mother Nikki Byers were sending bracelets to officers in England, Scotland, France, Spain, the Netherlands and beyond.
“I’m very proud of her,” Nikki said of her daughter’s impact on officers around the globe. “Every once in a while, you wonder if you’re doing OK as a parent. Then she just amazes us, and we know we’re doing things right.”
When Kaylee messaged the 14th Dis- trict Twitter page to see if they would like a bracelet, McNamara was thrilled. As soon as the package arrived with the loom bracelet inside and a note of appreciation from the famous bracelet girl, McNamara placed it on his wrist, where it has re- mained ever since.
“I was honored to wear it. As soon as I got it, I posted a picture saying how jeal-
14th District Social Media Officer Tom McNamara shows off his officer-appreciation bracelet.
ous other officers were in 011,” McNamara noted.
The young advocate immediately went to work weaving more loom bracelets for the 11th District. Little did Kaylee know, the 14th District was sending an officer care package her way, enclosed with a Chicago Police Department badge and a challenge coin to show just how much the bracelets mean to officers.
“If she’s showing support for us, we want to make sure that she knows that Chicago has her back as well,” McNamara stressed. “To have a little girl sitting at home, wishing us well and showing her support, that’s just huge. It’s a great thing.”
Bracelet girl shares appreciation wih officers i h isric
48 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2019