Cops go shopping to brighten kids' holiday

For those looking for a good local cause to support this holiday season, consider the "Shop with a Cop" program.

Organizers Louie and Bonnie Kloepper said the purpose of the program is to provide underprivileged children with the opportunity to buy gifts and interact with police officers in a positive manner.

Now in its fourth year, the program's goal is to raise enough money to take at least 125 kids shopping at the Wal-Mart in East Dundee. The children, who will each have $75 to spend, will be accompanied by an officer from the East or West Dundee, Gilberts or Sleepy Hollow police departments.

Donations can be made online at shopwacop.org, with denominations ranging from $75 to $1,500.

Bandito Barney's and Rosie O'Hares in East Dundee are also holding a raffle, with prizes including a pair of tickets to the Bears game against the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 23 at Soldier Field. Second prize is a $150 guest pass to the Anvil Club in East Dundee and third prize is a Miller Genuine Draft Bears neon sign.

Tickets are $5 and are available from both establishments, and will soon be available online.

Each of the four police departments are also selling T-shirts, cards and wooden ornaments handmade by Kloepper to raise money.

Putting on the program is no easy feat.

Before hitting the store, the kids and their families are treated to a buffet breakfast at the Fox Valley Baptist Church in East Dundee.

"The reason we take the kids to breakfast is that half of the kids when we started out were foster kids, and cops took them away from their families," said Louie Kloepper, an East Dundee police officer. "It breaks the ice with the kids and lets the kids see that we are human and not the bad guys."

In addition to the breakfast, each family is given a holiday dinner box, filled with a ham, pie and juice -- enough to feed a family of four to six people.

Last year, 97 children -- from first-graders to 16 years old -- participated.

Kloepper said each child has a plan for how to most wisely spend their money.

"The older kids have their game plan--they buy coats, dress jeans and shirts because they are looking to date and also some are going on job interviews," Kloepper said. "Then we had one kid who only wanted a portable CD player and one CD. We bought him the batteries to keep the thing going."

Then there was the story about the young girl who spent all of her money on gifts for friends and family--nothing for herself.

The officer accompanying her carried all of her purchases to the girl's car and then went back into the store and gave the girl money out of his own pocket to buy herself gifts.

Kloepper said he has been trying for the past year to figure out who that officer was but no one is willing to come forward.

For more information or to volunteer, visit shopwacop.org.

• Larissa Chinwah covers Carpentersville, East Dundee and West Dundee. To reach her, call (847) 931-5722, or e-mail lchinwah@dailyherald.com.