Walk into the Dover Target store this holiday season and you may see a joyful sight: children hand-in-hand with heroes from the Dover Police Department, shopping for holiday gifts for themselves and their family. The City of Dover Police Department along with Target Department Stores is excited to announce that the Dover Police will be participating in the Heroes and Helpers program for the 2nd year. On December 10th from 6pm-8pm, officers from the Dover Police Department will take a group of children in-need to the Dover Target store to shop for holiday gifts for their families.
The event pairs public safety officers with in-need youth for a day of holiday shopping, and a chance to form strong relationships in the process. Local law enforcement selects kids and families to participate, and the kids receive donated funds from Target and other local organizations, businesses and individuals to help them get gifts and other items they need. For the past several years, Target and local public safety organizations across the country have held events similar to Heroes & Helpers in communities, bringing kids and families holiday cheer, and forming lasting connections with law enforcement. This year, the Dover Police Department utilized the crowd sourcing site “GoFundMe” to raise over $5,000 for the program which will be used to buy Christmas gifts for 24 children from 14 different families in the Dover area with Target making the 1st donation of $1,000.00. In addition to the Christmas gifts, Little Caesar’s Pizza (Dover Location) will provide food for all the participants at the event along with an appearance from their mascot. Hoppin’ Good Time in Camden, DE will also provide each child with a gift certificate for a day of fun at their indoor play center.
The Dover Police Department Special Enforcement Unit (SEU) Supervisor, Sergeant Chad Bernat had this to say about the program: “This program allows Target and the Dover Police Department to come together once more, and help make the holidays a little better for several deserving children and families. I believe it is important that children have positive interactions like this with their local police department and know that the community supports them as well. The program started helps local heroes support their communities and provides another way for the Dover Police Department to give back to the community they serve.” Dover Police Chief, Paul Bernat added to those sentiments by saying “The Dover Police Department is grateful for the opportunity to team with Target once again to strengthen our relationship with our community, while helping children in need this holiday season. I am certainly looking forward to being a part of the event this year. ” It will certainly be a great night for the children and families involved, but also for the men and women of the Dover Police Department.
Video from 2013 Heroes and Helpers Event
Media Requests
Media members are welcome to attend the event, but must RSVP with Cpl. Hoffman by e-mail at: mark.hoffman@cj.state.de.us by Monday, December 8th at 4:00PM.
