The Chula Vista Police Department and Chula Vista Police Foundation held their ninth annual School Resource Officer Non-Profit Shoes and Socks Giveaway at Solo Shoes in the Palomar Trolley Center on Sept. 21. CVPD and its foundation’s fundraising efforts helped to assist 400 Chula Vista students in purchasing new shoes and socks for the start of the school year.
Taking monetary contributions from the Chula Vista community, CVPD focused on helping lower-income students under 18.
To do so, school resource officers worked in conjunction with school principals, school nurses and South Bay Community Services counselors, a local nonprofit that focuses on the well-being of youths and families, to identify Chula Vista students who live, go to school or attend counseling services in the area.
Erica Cooper, who works with SBCS, says this annual event is an important way to develop a relationship between CVPD and the Chula Vista community.
“[This is] a good collaboration,” Cooper said. [Plus], this benefits families who are in need.”
For Christina Shadoan-Ortega, who also works with SBCS, seeing the expressions on the children’s faces from getting a new pair of shoes and interacting with the officers is one of the highlights of the event.
Shadoan-Ortega says bringing children together with CVPD is a pivotal moment in their childhood development and is a way for children and CVPD to develop an important connection with one another.
“[This event] is such an important piece to these kids growing up,” Shadoan-Ortega said.
“It gives youth an opportunity to collaborate with law enforcement in a positive way.”
