Page 23 - FINAL WEST FOP BlueNote January February 2018

Rocky Mount Lodge 46 FOP, Cops and Kids
By Greg Brown – State Sergeant at Arms
It is always a wonderful feeling when you see a child's face their parent or parents are trying their very best to make ends
on Christmas morning as they see the first present that has
been placed around the Christmas tree for them to open. For
many children they never have that feeling because they never
have any presents to unwrap. Most of these children are in a
situation, which is out of their control and cannot be helped.
This is where the N.C. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 46
along with assistance from the Blue Knights NC XXI, a law-
enforcement based motorcycle club, has stepped in throughout
the years to assist parents who find themselves unable to pro-
vide for their children this holiday season. Nearly 70 parents
and children came out to participate in its annual Cops and
Kids event on December 9 at the Walmart in Rocky Mount.
Members of Lodge 46 were able to help them have a Christmas
they may otherwise not have had. We also had a tremendous
turn out of Officers to help each child shop this year. We were
able to provide each child with $250.00 to shop for necessities,
such as clothes, coats, shoes, bedroom linens, and toys that the
family may not have been able to provide. We as a lodge and
our local law enforcement believe that this event breaks down
the barrier between law enforcement and the community. It
shows them the more personal side to a law enforcement of-
ficer and that we are human as well. It is very humbling to see
the smiles on the children faces when they are paired up with
the officers and they go out shopping. It warms the heart.
Lodge Treasurer Tim Mehus has been participating for
more than a decade in the annual holiday shopping trip for area
families in need. He stated, "When you take a child around the
store and ask what they want and they say clothing or toilet-
ries, it does the heart good. It was such a delight to see the
outpouring of support from the officers. Each child was paired
with two or three law enforcement officers who walked with
them around the store to do some Christmas shopping. First
and foremost on the list was clothes, shoes, coats, bath essen-
tials and then a few toys. Most children went straight to the
coat rack because most of these children either did not have
one or the one they did have was just worn out. Not only is this
a special event for these children but it is also special for the support our program and we would like to thank them for al-
officers and their families who attend every year. Some say
that this is the highlight of their year and that they will con-
tinue to come as long as they are able".
The children were chosen from the Rocky Mount, Nash,
Edgecombe and Wilson County area. The children that were
selected for our program were truly deserving and are ones that
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meet but have had some sort of setback in life.
Tim Braddy, senior patrol officer for the Rocky Mount po-
lice, serves as the president of Lodge 46 and the Blue Knights.
Braddy stated, "The shopping day is one of several good things
that law enforcement do in the community. The experience
also allowed children to see officers in a different light other
than cases where police are called to a home in an emergency.
The purpose of this is to bring the community closer to the
police department and law enforcement. We want our children
to see that everything we do isn’t bad. We also want them to
know that no matter where we are in uniform they can walk up
and talk to us anytime because there is no reason to be scared
of us."
Edgecombe County Sheriff Clee Atkinson stated, "It is im-
portant for people to understand how much compassion law
enforcement has for people in the community." Lodge 46 Pres-
ident Braddy acknowledged that FOP, Cops and Kids was a
positive event for the officers as well. He stated, "This is also
a great experience for the officers because if they didn’t care,
they wouldn’t be here. Like myself, they’re not getting paid
doing this, but they’re here because they want to help out our
community. That’s why you do this job because it’s not about
money or glory. This is showing we’re out here making a dif-
ference."
Kelly Carraway, a mother, expressed her gratitude towards
the program as her children Tyler and Taylor Carraway said
they enjoyed their time shopping with their selected officers.
She stated, "I think it’s an awesome experience not just for the
children, but for the parents as well. It’s great to see people
giving to people in need. It’s an emotional time of year, espe-
cially for me of not having the money to buy gifts for my chil-
dren. I’m so happy that my kids will be able to get some toys
or something they wanted."
Walmart of Rocky Mount is always ready and willing to
lowing us to use their store and facilities. We would also like
to thank the following Agencies that came out and helped our
children shop this year. The Rocky Mount Police Department,
Pinetops Police Department, Nash and Edgecombe County
Sheriff's Offices, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Immi-
gration and Custom Enforcement, NC Blue Knights Chapter
XXI of Rocky Mount and all of the families of our lodge mem-
bers that came out to help us shop.
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