Law enforcement will wait tables at Rupe’s Burgers to help kids have a better holiday
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BLACKFOOT — The community is invited to a restaurant where law enforcement will be waiting tables to raise money to help kids this holiday season.
An annual fundraiser for “Santa’s Helpers” will be held next week on Thursday, Nov. 14, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Rupe’s Burgers in Blackfoot. The Blackfoot Police Department and Bingham County Sheriff’s Office will be waiting tables for tips, and proceeds will go to the program to buy presents for kids and their families.
Bingham County Sheriff’s Office 911 Supervisor Erin Hidalgo said Santa’s Helpers is like Shop with a Cop.
“We take kids shopping the day of the program, and they have breakfast with the officers, and they go shopping for their families. They get to ride in police cars, and they wrap their presents,” Hidalgo explained.
Santa’s Helpers will take place on Dec. 7, which begins at the Elks Lodge. The shopping then happens at the Walmart in Blackfoot.
The children who shop with law enforcement are between six and eleven years old. It costs at least $10,000 to run the program every year.
“Children are selected through the elementary schools across the county so all the way from Aberdeen to Fort Hall to Shelley and everywhere in between. There are school counselors and teachers that select families that they feel would benefit from the program,” Hidalgo said.
After applications are filled out and turned in, anywhere from 50 to 60 kids are taken to go shopping.
The program also helps an additional 30 to 50 kids and their families, although those kids don’t go shopping with law enforcement. Hidalgo said they will purchase presents for those children, and then officers will deliver the packages to the homes before Christmas arrives.
“One of the officers said he had tears in his eyes … when he delivered a present to some grandparents with their grandchildren and the grandma there hugged him … and basically said, ‘Thanks’ and if it weren’t for us, they wouldn’t be having a Christmas,” Hidalgo said tearing up herself while telling the story to EastIdahoNews.com.
Her favorite part of Santa’s Helpers is the reason why she started the program in 1997. She wants children to have a positive interaction with the police.
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“We used to wear full-on deputy uniforms in communications (at the dispatch center). I went to pick up my daughter (at the time) at preschool and the little kids that were playing — when I got out of the car — they ran away,” Hidalgo said. “I asked my daughter, ‘Why did those kids run away?’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, because they are afraid of you because you are police.’ And that really made me sad.”
Hidalgo said the Shop with a Cop program was done in other communities and she thought something like that could be done in Bingham County.
“We started our own program because I wanted the kids in our community and everywhere to know that the police are here for them, and if they ever need help, they can always come to us,” Hidalgo said.
When the program first began, about 19 kids were helped, but it has since grown to include more.
“I love that we can help some kids have a Merry Christmas, and I love that we are helping them have a positive interaction with the officers,” she added.
As for next week’s fundraiser, which is meant to contribute to Santa’s Helpers, Hidalgo hopes they can raise a couple of thousand dollars. The 911 dispatchers will be there, too, bussing tables.
“I think everybody has to have dinner every single night, so give yourself a break from cooking, come out, get some great food and have some officers wait on you. Santa is going to be there as well. This is such a great program!” Hidalgo said.
If people can’t attend the fundraising event for Santa’s Helpers, they can still donate by dropping off money at the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office.
