BELLEVUE, WI- The Brown County Sheriff’s Office, as part of its community outreach efforts, held an open house fundraiser last week to raise money for Police Lights of Christmas, a Christmas outreach program started in 2016 to “benefit low income, hurting, or homeless members” of the community during the Christmas season, according to the charity’s website.
The fundraiser, held at the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, was an event where the public could meet with deputies to show that law enforcement officers are no different than anyone else, WFRV reported.
Events included live demonstrations by deputies to show the public what they do, and there were plenty of food trucks for attendees to grab something to eat while watching the demonstrations, which included SWAT units, K9 officers, and displaying some of the vehicles deputies operate daily.
The event also included a dunk tank, where attendees could make a donation and throw balls at a target for the opportunity to “dunk a deputy.” There was also a 50/50 raffle, an obstacle course, and a chance to nail the sheriff with a “pie” in the face.
The money raised will benefit Police Lights of Christmas.
Last month, Culver’s in Wausau hosted a “Cops at Culver's” event to raise money for Police Lights of Christmas, WSAW reported.
Attendees could enjoy burgers or cheese curds to support the charity while also supporting local law enforcement.
“Culver’s is a staple that supports our students, our community, and does a lot of extra things in the community, partnering with cops who are also in the community every day. I think it’s important to be out here,” said Casey Krueger, who works in Wausau.
“To show people that are protecting us that we care about them, and we trust them with our lives,” Culver’s shift manager James Novak added. “So, I think it’s a very crucial quality that Culver’s, I believe, stands for.”
Local officers delivered food to those attending the event, which they believe is an essential mission of the department.
“When we see a need in the community, people are on hard times, or they don’t have money for gas, we participate in this program so that we can fill that need,” Wausau police officer Nate Stetzer said.
“When there’s a need, and we can see that need in the community, this is just one tool that we have to help provide for the community.”
Police Lights for Christmas explains why they started the mission:
“[T]hen the news broke about the Dallas officers that were ambushed–5 killed. This, amidst news night after night–negative media towards law enforcement. And our nation became caught in a constant tug-a-war between people being afraid of the police, and police being afraid of retaliation, and the horrible scenes that we have seen played out since.
“It was in those moments that we could feel God waiting patiently for us to connect the dots: we knew our officers knew how to find these citizens in our communities that were in need. They knew who was living in their cars. They knew who lived on the streets. They knew who was struggling. They came into contact with hurt every day–many opening up their own wallets to help someone in need. And the ‘Light’ came on! WE weren’t the ones who needed to hand out these gift cards–instead, we decided to partner with area police to stock their squad cars with these gift cards for the officers to hand out to those in need that they came into contact with while on patrol.”
Since 2016, Lights of Christmas has purchased over $1 million in gift cards and nearly 6,500 backpacks for those in need. Currently, approximately 117 police and sheriff departments participate nationwide, as well as the Wisconsin State Patrol.
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