Dover Police Are Giving Back This Holiday Season
Dover PD Free Coffee Gift
Five-hundred people received an extra perk with their daily cup of coffee today at the WaWa on Route 8 earlier today. The Dover Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), representing the men and women of the Dover Police Department purchased the 1st 500 cups of coffee for store-goers as a way of thanking the community for their support and encourage the public to pay it forward and help make Dover a more pleasant place to live and work. The idea came from the FOP President, Dave Gist and FOP member Mark Hoffman. Gist and Hoffman wanted to do something during the Holiday Season that would benefit a wide range of people in the community. When the coffee gift came to mind, they reached out to WaWa management who immediately loved the idea. Each coffee gift recipient also received a card from the Dover FOP as well. “We felt it was a great way to give back to our community and thank them for supporting their police department, but also to encourage citizens to pay it forward and perform random acts of kindness. Small acts like these serve to make our community stronger and develop positive relationships, which only makes our city a better place to live.” said FOP President Dave Gist. The funds that supported the coffee gift came from the FOP’s private funds raised by members of the FOP.
Heroes and Helpers
The Free Coffee Gift is just a small part of the DPD Gives Back campaign which has gained traction on social media under the hashtag #DPDGivesBack and #DPDChristmasCoffee. On Wednesday, December 10th, nearly 30 officers took 24 under-privileged children to the Dover Target store to go Christmas shopping for themselves and family as part of the 2nd annual Heroes and Helpers event. Each child was given $125 to spend, in addition to arts-and-craft activities, free pizza for the children and families by Little Caesar’s Pizza, and free play day gift cards from Hoppin’ Good Time in Camden. While the children were shopping, Cpl. Mark Hoffman and Sgt. Chad Bernat surprised each parent with an additional $125 gift card which caused tears to flow in the room. Throughout the store, officers and children were seen laughing, smiling, and playing together as they went shopping. As the night ended, it was clear that the officers and other volunteers were impacted as much as the children being helped. Photos from the event can be seen on the Dover Police Department Facebook Page and are available upon request by media. A video from the event can be seen here:
Code Purple Shelters
DPD Gives Back didn’t stop there though. On, Friday December 12th, the department donated items to Kent County Code Purple. The organization provides overnight shelter to men, women, and children when temperatures dip below 32 degrees. The department donated the following items:
-5 air mattresses
-50 pairs of socks
-4 sets of bedding
-Dozens of winter hats and gloves
-30 travel hand sanitizer bottles
-30 travel toothbrush/toothpaste kits
-Additional personal products
Code Purple is always looking for more items for men, women, and children. For more information on the Code Purple program, visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/codepurplekentcounty/?fref=ts
