GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – The Green Bay Police Department took to the streets on Monday to deliver baskets of holiday cheer.
It was the 3rd annual Badges Giving Baskets initiative in which community officers team up with Feeding America and are able to deliver baskets of Thanksgiving food to those in the community that need some help this holiday season.
Green Bay Police Captain Kevin Warych says they aren’t simply “the bad guys.”
“Police work is many things and police work is not all about writing tickets and taking people to jail,” says Captain Warych. “Police officers serve the community in a million different ways.”
He’s glad when these opportunities present themselves so members of the community can have the opportunity to interact with a police officer in perhaps a more positive circumstance than would be typical.
“People see police officers on their worst day and we want to make sure they see police officers on their best day,” explains Captain Warych. “If we can bring a food basket to them then they’ll think that the police officers aren’t that bad.”
Jennifer Fonseca of Green Bay, one of the basket recipients, echoed the connection that such a small gesture can have in creating a bond between officers and the community.
“This was a really nice helping hand for us,” she says. “To see that there are actually police departments that really do care.”
Some of the foods in the basket were Thanksgiving staples, such as stuffing mix, while other featured items included cereal and hot chocolate mix. For Fonseca, this little gift will go a long way.
“It’ll help out a lot, considering we have such a large family and we don’t always have the help,” she explains.
A major source of fiduciary support for the initiative comes from the Packers Foundation, which provided the department with a grant in 2017.
“We took that money and we purchased the food through Feeding America – Eastern Wisconsin out of Appleton,” explains Captain Warych.
The gift baskets were provided by Hobby Lobby and Green Bay officers took time to hand tie the bows included on each basket.
“This is a collective effort, this is not just one person doing all the work,” says Captain Warych. “The department as a whole came together to really spread this goodwill during the week of Thanksgiving.”
For them, it was well worth it to make sure everyone is able to have some joy this holiday week.
“We want to show the community that we care and that we want them to have a smile on their face and make sure that they know that we can serve them in different ways,” Captain Warych says.
On Monday participating officers were able to hand deliver about seven baskets of Thanksgiving food to various families across the area.
