12 DECEMBER 2023 | INTHEVUE.COM In 1995, Bill and Ginger Usher of Paducah hosted a fundraiser for the event, and that year they raised enough money to help ten families with Christmas assistance, doubling the impact from the previous year. Mr. Usher owned Usher Transporting, a company that hauled liquid materials such as diesel and gasoline. He developed a relationship with first responders in our area due to the nature of his work, and he saw the importance of giving our first responders community support. Mr. and Mrs. Usher hosted the first fundraiser in their home, and it was a low-key event without any fanfare. Year after year, they continued to invite their friends and family into their home for a small fundraising effort for a cause that was dear to their heart. As the Ushers were getting older, their close friends, Bill and Theresa Jones, knew based on the conversations they’d had with the Ushers that they wanted to see the program continue. Bill and Theresa knew that one way they could see the legacy through was to carry the torch of the fundraising event every year for the Christmas Cops program. Mr. and Mrs. Usher have since passed away, but their legacy lives on through the fundraising efforts of Bill and Theresa Jones. Bill and Theresa started out hosting the fundraiser at their home, but over the years the guest list grew so large that they ran out of space. They moved the fundraiser to Walker Hall six years ago, and today the program and its fundraising efforts are stronger than ever. In the first year of “Shop with a Cop”, the Fraternal Order of Police spent $200 on the whole family, and now Christmas Cops helps 15-18 families every year by spending $200 per child for toys and clothes, and $250 for groceries for the family. The event is an all-day affair for the families and officers involved. Each family is paired with an officer to help them shop for the day, and they start out shopping in the morning for toys and clothes. After the morning shopping session, the officers and families enjoy a catered lunch together at Walker Hall. Then the officers and families go to the grocery to buy food for the families. The program works hard to ensure that an equal number of families from the city and county are served every year. There are many families in our community that meet the requirements for Christmas assistance through various organizations like the Salvation Army and Paducah Cooperative Ministries, but the Christmas Cops program aims to serve a slightly different population. Steve says, “We want to serve people in the gap. They’re working, and making just enough to get by, but not quite enough to provide extras. They may be slightly above the income level required for other assistance programs, but still need a little extra help.” Their referrals come mostly through the school Family Resource Centers, by word of mouth, and through officer interactions with people in the community. After a family is referred, there is a short application to be filled out. Steve also says that one of the objectives of the program is to provide a positive association to law enforcement to the kids and their families. Steve says, “We want to build positive relationships with these kids at an age where it will have a long-lasting impact.” Gretchen Morgan of Paducah Police has helped Steve with the program since 2010. She says the best part about being involved in the Christmas Cops program is running into a family that she has helped, and them remembering their interac- tions with her. She says, “They remember the officer and they remember the shopping. It’s not necessarily the things they got, but the experience they had. And that’s what makes a differ- ence.” Gretchen recalls one young man that she shopped with who made an unforgettable impression on her. The young man was in high school at the time, and Gretchen took him and his mom shopping that day. The young man had a very challenging life and had experienced several negative interactions with law enforcement. Gretchen says he needed some good positive role models, and she and the other officers were able to provide that for him that day. She continued to stay in contact with him afterwards. She says that after high school he attended job corps where he learned a trade, and today he has a career in that trade that provides well for him. You don’t have to look far to see division across our country right now. Every major news outlet is quick to tell us about the ways in which our differences pit us against each other. But if you turn away from the me- dia and focus on our community, you don’t have to look far to see kindness either. Bill Jones says, “I think this program is a win-win. It helps families during the holidays, but it’s also good for the law enforcement officers because their job is already so stressful. So for them to see the good in others and to be able to give back and connect with the community is healing for them.” Christmas COPS
