Area Children Get to “Shop with a Cop”
SOUTH CHARLESTON – For the ninth straight year, the West Virginia State Police, the Charleston Police Department, the West Virginia Air National Military Police and Catenary Coal Company will participate in the “Shop with a Cop” program.
Each year, Catenary Coal, a subsidiary of Arch Coal, generously provides $8,000 in total funding for the “Shop with a Cop” program. This year, the company will support a shopping spree for 25 underprivileged children from Sharon-Dawes Elementary School, representing 25 families from the Cabin Creek area.
At 7:00 a.m. on Friday, December 17, 2004, each of the children will be paired with a police officer that will assist the child in keeping track of their items during the Christmas shopping spree at the Toys-R-Us in South Charleston. The officers will use calculators to keep the totals so each child utilizes her/her $250 spending allotment.
In addition, Pritchard Mining, owned by Andrew Jordan, will provide a Christmas dinner basket for each of the 25 families. Like last year, Catenary Coal also purchases a winter coat for each child.
“The West Virginia State Police is extremely proud to be a part of this annual program,” said Colonel Howard E. Hill, Jr., superintendent of the West Virginia State Police. “The joy that comes from seeing a child’s face light up during an opportunity like this is what makes the Christmas season so great.”
Catenary Coal’s General Manager Jeff Bitzer says that the company has funded the program every year since its inception in 1995. “We’re so pleased to bring Christmas to more than two dozen families this year,” says Bitzer. “We get to see firsthand what a difference it makes in the lives of local children. Helping young students in the Cabin Creek area is a truly rewarding experience.”