Thanks to raising a record $20,000, the Elgin Police Department Elves will be able to take 90 children holiday shopping Saturday.
Formerly known as Shop with a Cop, the department’s Elves program provides each child with $200 in gift cards and arranges for department employees to accompany them to the Meijer store in Elgin to select gifts for themselves and their family, said Lacey Roberts, a police department financial analyst.
“This year we decided we had to find a way to find community partners to raise more money to help more people. We were able to accomplish it,” Roberts said. “It’s been a lot of extra work and well worth the work.”
She got involved about six years after being recruited by Eric Echevarria, Elgin’s former deputy chief who helped launch Shop with a Cop, she said. She’s good with logistics, she said, and initially her job was to handle paperwork and check in families on the shopping day.
“I got to see how impactful it is and saw the kids’ faces. It was a very humbling experience,” Roberts said. “From that point on, I kind of just took it over.”
The police department partners with Meijer, which provides $5,000 in gift cards for children to go shopping.
Roberts and police Cmdr. Heather Lencioni decided EPD Elves could be bigger and better this year. Their efforts were bolstered by an anonymous donation of $2,500 in gift cards and a fundraiser held by Elgin Fresh Market in which the store matched $5,000 of what was raised, Roberts said.
“This year, because of them, we are getting an extra $12,000,” she said.
With the additional funding, they were able to open the program to more children and provide more spending money, Roberts said.
“We always have kids on the waiting list who don’t get called. We were almost able to capture everyone this year,” she said.
Elgin police liaison officers, ROPE officers and patrol officers nominate the children who participate in the shopping spree. There are always some who want to buy things like shoes, underwear, gifts for their family or groceries, Roberts said.
“It’s important people understand these kids don’t show up and just buy video games,” she said.
There’s a lot of planning that goes into the effort, she said. The actual shopping day is the easy part, she said.
“It’s organized chaos,” Roberts said. “By the time you stop and breathe, the day has flown by,” she said. “Everyone who shows up has a fantastic day.”
EPD Elves is successful because it’s a team effort, Roberts said. Police Chief Ana Lalley and the command staff volunteer along with officers, staff and members of the Elgin Police Explorers. The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office donates stockings filled with treats.
“The funding comes from the generosity of the people in the community,” Roberts said. “The more people who can participate or donate, the bigger reach we have and the more kids we can help.
“Next year, I’m going to set a bigger goal,” she said. “It’s touched me in a way that I will stay involved forever.”
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
