St. Cloud’s Largest Shop With A Cop Event Doubles Families Served Thanks to Jules’ Bistro Support

(KNSI) – Local law enforcement held the largest Shop With A Cop event to date thanks to support from a downtown St. Cloud restaurant.

Jake Judd/KNSI News

More than 80 students in District 742 bought Christmas presents for over 200 loved ones during Thursday night’s event at Walmart in St. Cloud. That’s more than double the 34 families assisted last season. School Resource Officer Sergeant Greg Klinefelter explained the little Christmas miracle that made it happen. “This year, we had Donella Westphal from Jules’ Bistro come and she wanted to do something to help the children in the district. So she went out and raised a whole bunch of money. And with that, we were able to add to
our budget.”

The children get $90 to spend on each sibling and a few even choose to save some money to get their parents a present. Klinefelter says the program is a way for police to give back to the young people they serve. “We want to make sure that we can do our part to provide these young children gifts where they may not otherwise have that opportunity.”

KNSI News caught up with Westphal at the wrapping station, where she explained it was her 36 staff members who came up with the idea. idea to help the school district, and the Shop With A Cop program caught their attention. They spent the month of November fundraising with customers and collected over $9,000. Westphal’s crew then topped it off with an event at a local brewery. “And then we did Beeranthropy at Pantown Brewing Company, and we raised another $4,000 there with the help of Ted Manderfeld from Dueling Pianos. And so, when all was said and done, we were able to raise about $15,000.”

Jake Judd/KNSI News

Westphal was ecstatic with everyone who came forward to help and said it was typical for the city. “I love St Cloud, and I’m not surprised at all at the people who stepped up or by my team. We’re a pretty close-knit group of people. I love them. They love each other, and we really believe that as a business, we want to be a force for good in the community.”

They plan to hold the fundraiser again next year. Members of the St. Cloud and Waite Park Police Department, Stearns County Sheriff’s Office and Minnesota DNR Conservation Officers participated in Shop With A Cop.

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