WALKER, Mich. — Help us help you.
In a nutshell, that's the idea behind the Walker Police Department's Community Care initiative.
Officer Mitch Harkema told FOX 17 residents would constantly approach him and his colleagues in the field to thank them for their service.
"A lot of times, the follow up question is, 'How can we help you?'" he explained. "You know, 'We want to do something for the police department.'”
So, the police department created the Community Care initiative.
"Our role patrol officers were taking their money right out of their own pockets," Harkema said. "So we started talking here at the police department and thought, 'You know, what could we have that's on hand?”
He added, "We put the word out on our Facebook page last year. 'Hey, this is what we're doing. We want to collect some gift cards for officers to use to help those in need based on maybe some of these types of circumstances.' We're so lucky to work in such a supportive community like the city of Walker. They jumped on board.”
Essentially, people in the community can go to the police department building (4343 Remembrance Rd NW) and drop off gift cards. They're particularly interested in collecting prepaid Visa cards because those can cover a lot of the needs other cards cannot. Of course, they won't turn away another other cards, like for restaurants or Meijer.
The process is pretty simple.
“Step into the police department anytime during our business hours," Harkema said. "Just ring the bell at the front desk. One of our record clerks will come out and they'll collect it from you.”
Harkema said officers have been doing things like this for years, but have pulling from their own pockets. Now, the Community Care initiative allows residents to get involved in a more streamlined process — one that has a priceless impact.
"Our motto is 'Community Partnership for a Quality Future.' That's what we're all striving for, whether you're a police officer, a citizen, the mayor of Walker — whoever you may be in our city, we believe in helping each other," Harkema said. "That's how you do it is by coming together.”
The initiative officially runs through the end of the month, but Harkema said they'll accept donations throughout the year.