Fourth-graders gift emergency kits to local police

By Jess Nielsen Beach | [email protected]

Keeping the community safe and responding to emergencies is a 24/7 job. This ongoing and demanding work schedule keeps police officers busy often leaving them little time for personal breaks. 

“They do not get scheduled breaks,” said Jill Wilkins, wife of Detective Kyle Wilkins. “If the day is slow, they can take a break to type their reports and eat lunch. If there are a lot of calls or if they are short-handed, they have to work all the way through their shift with no breaks, no lunches.”

Normally, the police officers are the ones serving and protecting, but the fourth-graders at Truman Elementary decided that it was time for a role reversal and soon hatched a plan to become the helpers themselves.

The students spent hours putting together individual kits to ensure that police officers are ready to go in case of an emergency. If they can’t stop for lunch, there are granola bars and candy to tide them over; if they get into a sticky situation, there is also hand sanitizer and tissues. 

Over 90 kits were put together by the Truman fourth-graders to ensure that the police can be prepared no matter what kind of day they’re having. 

Lonee Tapia and Kirsten Anderson, whose classes were responsible for this act of service, added that no officer was left behind – including the six K9 officers. Theirs were literal doggie bags filled with bones, toys, and more for a “ruff” day on the job.

Four officers, including Police Chief Colleen Jacobs, were in attendance to greet the students with a smile and handshake and thank them for their emergency kits. 

After congratulating the children and their dedication to service, the officers had a small gift of gratitude of their own.

Bonnie Seastrand, a secretary at Truman, explained some of the work and volunteering that went into kits, including many parent and student donations. “Some parents donated up to 30 or 40 dollars,” she said.