Page 30 - FOP_Magazine_ February2019

All n
n
n
n
n
t
t
t
t
h
h
h
h
he
e
e
e
e
This unique group of police spouses, children, parents and siblings has walked the walk to provide unparalleled support to Lodge 7 members
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
Another we-are-family moment came during the annual “Lunch with Santa” this past Dec. 1. At one of the FOP Lodge 7 Family Auxiliary’s signature events, members sold bracelets emblazoned with the organization’s mantra, “Never Let Them Walk Alone.” At $5 apiece, the Auxiliary moved enough stock to raise a sizable donation for the family of Jason Van Dyke.
Family ties also led Auxiliary members to respond when Detective David March, Officer Thomas Gaffney and former officer Joseph Walsh gained acquittal on their charges in the Laquan McDonald shooting. They sent gift cards to the offi- cers’ children because, as Family Auxiliary President Angie Haynes describes, “Their families needed a hug. That’s what we want to provide.”
In 1994, Carmen Martinez was a new police wife when she felt a welcome-to-the-Family Auxiliary experience. She had been struggling with it a bit, so she got in touch with Haynes to get some advice. Martinez joined the organization immedi-
ately, is now one of its board members and understands what it’s like to be a spouse. “It’s not easy what they go through,” she admits. “So we want to be there to make it a little easier for them.”
Since 1991, the FOP Family Auxiliary has been combining small, everyday gestures with big hearts to make it easier, comfortable, fulfilling and rewarding to be spouses, children, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles of Chicago Police Officers.
Auxiliary members will show up at the hospital with a bag filled with a toothbrush and other necessities for a spouse sit- ting by a husband or wife. They will put together a fundraiser to help make ends meet. They will be there to celebrate a hol- iday or attend a school play when the officer cannot because of having to work. For the past 28 years, they have been an integral part of the Chicago Police family.
“We’re here to listen to you and I really believe we can help you,” declares Haynes, who has served as Family Auxiliary
i
i
i
i
From left, members of the FOP Family Auxiliary Board include Gary Chibicki, Janet Chibicki, Jamie Hernandez, President Angie Haynes, Sophia Haritos, Carmen Martinez and Sonia Reynoso.
30 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ FEBRUARY 2019
Family Auxiliary