Today, Columbus Police Community Liaison Officer Timothy Mounts was contacted by a school in his precinct (South Side), asking if he could help them obtain a winter coat and a pair of shoes for one of their students. The boy had no coat at all, and his sneakers had worn through to the extent that they had to be thrown away. The school had temporarily provided a pair of boots for him that were far too large.
Ofc Mounts reached out to Starfish. We had a clean, warm coat from our coat drive ready for service. Because tomorrow is the last day of school before Thanksgiving break, we asked Ofc Mounts if we could give him some money from our general fund so that he could quickly pick up a pair of shoes before going to the school (and then be able to exchange them if the size wasn't quite right).
We received a text from Ofc Mounts a short time later. He'd gone to buy the shoes at Walmart, but when they found out what they were for, they refused his money and donated them instead.
A happy story of multiple, caring people coming together to help this child have a warm, happy Thanksgiving. Please know that all of your donations to Starfish Assignment Columbus are going directly to people who need help, and they're getting there by way of our dedicated, caring Columbus police officers.
