Lakewood Officers' Charity Brings Turkeys, Holiday Spirit to Families

A little turkey goes a long way.

At least that is what the Lakewood Officers' Charity is hoping, as it distributed the fixings for Christmas dinner to the families of 150 Head Start students in the Clover Park School District on Thursday afternoon.

A group of 14 Lakewood Police officers took over the gym at and packed all 150 bags in a little more than a half hour. They benefitted from extra help by their family members, a State Patrol trooper and a Department of Corrections employee who works out of the Lakewood Police Department.

“Every year, it seems to be getting better and better,” said a clearly pleased Officer Ryan Moody, who launched the project in 2008 as a spin-off of one that he started at McCarver Elementary in Tacoma. “We even have guys here on-shift who wanted to help.”

About 20 of the dinners, each containing a turkey, ham, gravy mix, potatoes, canned vegetables, fresh carrots, biscuits and a pumpkin pie, were packed up to be delivered by officers in their patrol cars. The rest of the families, which were determined by the school district, arrived later to pick up their meals.

“A lot of these people, we see on a negative basis, so it’s nice to be able to do something positive and help build a better relationship with them,” Moody said. “They get to see us in a different light instead of as (the people) who take someone that they care about away in handcuffs.”

The dinners are paid for by the Lakewood Officers' Charity, which is able to return more than 99 percent of money raised to its charitable expenditures, thanks to little overhead – and willing volunteers.

State Patrol Trooper Phillip Davis said that he enjoyed participating in a similar project last year with Central Pierce Fire & Rescue, so he sought out an opportunity to do something this year.

“I just wanted to donate some time back to the community,” he said. “This is kind of a change, and a chance to give back.”

This is the fourth year the charity has provided dinners to students in the Head Start program, which provides education, health, nutrition and parent-involvement services to low-income children and their families.

The opportunity to give back to the community was a driving force for several of the officers.

“We see members of the community who are less fortunate and we want to help,” said Officer Tim Borchardt, the charity’s president. “We’re often the first responders, so we see good families who may need a little help.”

Sgt. John Fraser agreed, adding that most of the police officers have stable homes and the financial means to do something for the people they serve.

“It’s simple, but the little bit of time we spend here means a lot.”

Officer Dan Tenney said that he traditionally works the graveyard shift, which makes it difficult to volunteer for outreach projects, but this year, he jumped at the chance.

“I don’t have a lot going on this year,” he said as he loaded cans of biscuits into bags, “so I wanted to help out.”

The Lakewood Officers' Charity isn’t quite done yet, though. Two more events are planned next week: the annual Shop With an Officer event on Monday morning at the Lakewood , where 20 children will shop for their families, and Old Country Christmas on Thursday at , where about 70 families will enjoy a holiday dinner, gifts and visits with Santa.