In early September, South Linden Columbus Division of Police Officers Joshua Bell and Mike Daymut already had Thanksgiving on their minds. They wanted to make sure residents of the Rosewind apartment complex had a good holiday by providing Thanksgiving dinner for everyone who lived there. They work with Starfish Board Member Officer Pete Casuccio and told him about their idea for "Cops & Gobblers." We were definitely on board!
A few days later, KEMBA Financial Credit Union contacted us about sponsoring a community-based project. Did we have one in mind? Did we ever!
We next turned to our friend Nic Champ at Walmart Columbus - Morse Rd, who didn't bat an eye when we said we were hoping to order 150 frozen turkeys, plus sides like corn, green beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cornbread mix. Imagine--that's over 1,500 pounds of turkey alone!
Today, the 614cadets went door to door in Rosewind, passing out flyers to let them know that CPD officers and Starfish volunteers will be in the neighborhood on Wednesday, bringing Thanksgiving dinners right to their door. We've made arrangements with one of the local centers to hold onto the dinners until Thursday night if no one is at home on Wednesday to take the dinner. After that, we'll donate any remaining food to a nearby community partner.
Rosewind has been very hard hit by violence this year. On July 4, 14-year-old Indiah Corley was shot on Vesta Avenue in Rosewind. Her murder remains unsolved. A few months later, on September 16, our President/Founder Nicole Banks was on a ride along with Ofc Casuccio when they were the first car to arrive at the city's 106th homicide, also on Vesta Avenue.
There was also one more shooting just on Vesta that we're aware of. You can therefore imagine how grateful we are to CPD, especially Officers Bell and Daymut, for giving us this opportunity to give back to this neighborhood. Thanks also to KEMBA, Walmart, the 614 Cadets, Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, and our amazing volunteers for helping to make this happen.
Cops & Gobblers is this Wednesday, so stay tuned for more updates later this week.
