‘Shop With a Cop,’ ‘Angel Tree’ and ‘Project Lifesaver’ get boost for holidays from cafe owner and his crew

Several law enforcement agencies are represented during check presentation at Chef Hog Cafe where $2,000 was donated to the Shop With a Cop program, Ivins, Utah, Dec. 13, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

IVINS — Checks were presented Thursday to “Shop With a Cop” and “Project Lifesaver” while a table full of gifts was earmarked for the “Angel Tree Project,” all courtesy of a cafe owner on a mission to benefit community programs during the holidays.

Krystle Lake (second from left), founder of the Angel Tree Project, with the Chef Hog Cafe crew during a presentation at the restaurant, Ivins, Utah, Dec. 13, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Jeff Germain presented the funds to law enforcement officials at a gathering that included a luncheon served at his Chef Hog Cafe at 1100 Tuacahn Drive in Ivins at 1 p.m.

The dining room was awash with police uniforms as deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, including Sheriff Cory Pulsipher, along with detectives and officers from the St. George and Santa Clara/Ivins Police Departments were presented the funds.

A check for $2,000 will benefit Shop With a Cop program, and a $1,600 check was presented to the St. George Police Department to support Project Lifesaver.

The Angel Tree Project also garnered the cafe owner’s support when Germain and his crew pulled an angel from one of the many Angel Trees set up throughout Washington County.

Once the angel tag is pulled from the tree, those items are purchased and wrapped, then join thousands of others that will be scheduled for delivery by one of more than a dozen fire departments throughout the week beginning Dec. 17.

“We picked an angel from the tree and that’s where this stuff came from,” Germain said, referring to a table set up in the cafe that was loaded with gift-wrapped presents and food items that were picked up by Angel Tree Project founder and volunteer firefighter Krystle Lake.

Check for $1,600 presented at Chef Hog’s Cafe to the St. George Police Department to purchase equipment for the Project Lifesaver program, Ivins, Utah, Dec. 13, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

The money presented for the Shop With a Cop program will be used to fund a shopping spree Saturday morning for children accompanied by police officers to one of the local Walmart stores, where they pick out the toys or other items they would like for Christmas.

Target is also participating in Shop With the Cop, a first for the big-box retailer that worked with the St. George Police Department to make arrangements for the Saturday morning shopping spree in the St. George store located at 275 S. River Road, St. George Police Officer Lona Trombley said.

Fundraising efforts for Project Lifesaver began after Germain learned that the St. George Police Department needed a locator tracking receiver, part of the LoJack SafetyNet tracking system. The receiver helps police locate a lost child or vulnerable adult.

The funds for Project Lifesaver were raised through the sale of donated paintings by Germain’s brother, William Germain, an artist living in the West Jordan area.

The Germain family has a history of community involvement, a practice instilled in them by their father, Jeff Germain said.

“My father would go to an Angel Tree and pull every angel,” he said, and would then go out and purchase presents and other items for each of the families’ during the holidays.

Shop With a Cop is supported by many law enforcement agencies around the county, as well as the business community and generous companies.

Table of gifts and food items being donated to the Angel Tree Project during check presentation event at the Chef Hog Cafe, Ivins, Utah, Dec. 13, 2018 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Kony Coins for Kids selects the children to participate in the program and also provides Washington County law enforcement agencies with the names of the youth they would be helping.

In addition to more than 100 children selected to be a part of Shop with a Cop, money was also raised to buy gifts for those children who were too young to participate.

Project Lifesaver is designed to assist agencies, including those within Washington County, in locating a child or adult who has a cognitive condition – such as Alzheimer’s, autism, dementia or Down syndrome – that compels them to wander off, and more than 1,200 law enforcement departments nationwide use the system.

The Angel Tree Project launched in 2014 to help families at Christmas thanks to the efforts of nearly a dozen Utah fire departments – six of which are located in Washington County – along with two police departments.

Twenty angel trees have been set up in fire departments across Utah, including the Santa Clara/Ivins, St. George, Washington City, Hurricane, New Harmony, Central, Salina, Draper City, Hanksville EMS, Richfield, South Jordan and West Jordan fire departments, as well as at the Santa Clara/Ivins and Washington City police departments.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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1 Comment

  • JOSH DALTON December 14, 2018 at 12:03 pm

    BROCK BENTLY IS MY HERO! GO FALCONS!

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