COPs fill Salvation Army coffers

The shelves at the Salvation Army Food Bank will soon be less bare thanks to a donation from Lloydminster Citizens On Patrol (COP).

Members of the local organization made a recent $700 donation to the food bank to the amazement of Major Bond Jennings, who said the timing of the donation couldn’t have been better with Christmas preparations in full swing.

“It’s always great finding out another organization has brought us a donation,” said Jennings, noting funds will be used to purchase food for the food bank.

“All funds received go into the same area and are used for the general operation of the food bank, administration cost, staffing, general expenses, and of course, for the purchase of food.”

Lloydminster COP president, Don Larry, explained funds were raised at Alberta Citizens On Patrol’s annual general meeting, which was hosted in Lloydminster the weekend of Oct. 13.

“The guest speaker at the AGM decided they didn’t want the money and decided to donate it to our local food bank,” said Larry.

“The food bank was the best charity we could think of, and any time we can help, it’s great. We’re also very community-oriented and want to help the community, so this fits right in with that.”

Founded in 1999, Lloydminster Citizens On Patrol members are the eyes and ears of the RCMP, assisting in detecting and deterring crime.

“If you care about and are concerned about your community, this is a great organization to be involved with,” said COP member Heather Ballek.

“You can patrol during the day, at night, you set your own schedule, it’s whenever you can.

“My husband, Mark, and I walk when we patrol, and we make sure things are the way they’re supposed to be.”

Larry also noted COPs has seen a steady decrease in numbers in recent years, with the pandemic playing a major role.

“We’re fairly active, but we’re down in membership right now,” explained Larry.

“COVID hit us pretty bad; we were up to 38 members at one time, now we’re down to about 14-15 and actively recruiting.”

Aside from being the eyes and ears of the RCMP, Lloydminster COPs also do a fair bit of fundraising through initiatives such as saferide home services.

According to Ballek, these services not only help the organization financially, they also help keep drunk drivers off of the road, something Sgt. Brad Mouland of the Lloydminster RCMP is happy to be a part of.

Mouland acts as the liaison between COPs and the RCMP and noted the RCMP has a great relationship with COP in Lloydminster, as well as provincially.

“We definitely rely on them a lot to do the things we do,” he said.

With COPs actively recruiting members, Larry explained anyone interested is encouraged to visit www.lloydcops.com to fill out an application form. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, have a clean driver’s abstract and have no criminal record.

“It costs you nothing, we just need your time,” said Ballek.