***Members of the media are invited to attend***
MEDIA CONTACT:
For Sunshine Division: Executive Director, Kyle Camberg
Direct: 503.577.6852 or kyle@sunshinedivision.org
On Wednesday, August 21, at 7 a.m., the Sunshine Division will partner with Fred Meyer and Camp Rosenbaum to fund the annual "Shop with a Cop" event at the Gateway Fred Meyer store, located at 1111 Northeast 102nd Avenue.
This year marks the 17-year anniversary of Shop with a Cop, where Portland Police Bureau members, Multnomah County sheriffs, and up to 275 kids spend a morning together shopping for back-to-school clothing. Participating kids are identified by the Boys and Girls Club of Portland, Islamic Social Services of Oregon State, Healthy Birth Initiative, Marathon Scholars, and Multnomah County Youth and Family Services Division and are selected based on their financial need.
The Sunshine Division, with support of Fred Meyer, and Camp Rosenbaum, have partnered to fund the program with $34,000 for the event. In addition to the cash donation, Fred Meyer provides a significant discount off clothing purchased at the event along with school supplies and toiletries for each child.
"Not only does this event help the kids involved, it's a great opportunity for officers to spend some time engaging youth, said Sunshine Division's Bureau Liaison, Officer Matt Tobey. "In addition to the Shop With a Cop event, the Sunshine Division actually features a year-round program where officers can take kids in need shopping for clothes. Over the past decade, more than 3,000 students have been helped."
The Sunshine Division funds the Shop with a Cop event through its Izzy's Kids program. Sunshine Division has fundraised and invested roughly $500,000 in the Izzy's Kids Shop with a Cop program in the last decade. Izzy's Kids, which began in 1981 in honor of longtime board member Isabel Hoyt, provides funds so that Portland police officers can take children in need shopping for new school clothes. The Izzy's Kids program operates year-round and will pair an additional 300 kids with officers, for a unique, one-on-one shopping experience throughout the remainder of the school year. The year-round Izzy's Kids program is generously funded by the Richard R. Burns Estate and loyal private donors.
To donate to the Sunshine Division Izzy's Kids Fund, please go to: http://www.sunshinedivision.org/donate/
About the Sunshine Division
Since 1923, the Portland Police Bureau Sunshine Division has been providing emergency food and clothing relief to Portland families and individuals in need. Whether due to the loss of a job, domestic crime, illness, or victims of fire or disaster, the Sunshine Division has built a 96-year legacy of mobilizing quickly and efficiently to assist distressed Portlanders.
The Sunshine Division offers emergency food assistance six days a week at their N. Thompson warehouse, five days a week at their SE Stark location, as well as 24/7 through their partnership with the Portland Police Bureau who store food boxes at each police precinct that can be dispatched on demand. In addition to food relief they also offer new and gently-used clothing to those in need and one-on-one school clothes shopping experiences with a police officer through their Izzy's Kids program.
For more information, please visit: https://sunshinedivision.org/
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