Although Christmas may be the warmest time of the year, many children on the Treasure Coast are not expecting to wake up on Christmas morning to packages tied with pretty ribbons and filled with hidden treasures.
The Sheriff’s Offices in both St. Lucie and Indian River County meet children every single day whose holidays will be less than merry and bright, and that’s precisely why both offices implemented the Shop with a Cop program and why the Dyer Difference Award Committees at both Dyer Chevrolet in Fort Pierce and Dyer Chevrolet Mazda Subaru in Vero Beach selected the programs as recipients of the November Dyer Difference Award.
School Resource Officers in both counties work with students at local schools daily, developing relationships, educating, and acting as informal counselors and mentor, and they are aware of children who would benefit from the Shop with a Cop program.
Thirty children will be paired with deputy sheriffs, given a $100 gift card, and will enjoy the memory of a shopping experience that will last a lifetime. In both counties, deputies report that in nearly all cases, instead of rushing to purchase a video game or toy for themselves, the children are on the hunt to find gifts to share with their siblings and parents instead of focusing only on themselves.
Since relocating to the area in 2008, each month, Dyer Chevrolet staff members at Dyer Chevrolet Fort Pierce and Dyer Chevrolet Mazda Subaru in Vero Beach meet to review the applications which have been submitted in their respective counties and select one non-profit organization to receive that month’s recognition and a $3,000 award in each county.
For the Dyer family and the members of the Dyer staff, the award and the $6,000 in donations between the two counties are all about helping to make a positive difference in the community. For the recipients, it’s an acknowledgment of their tireless efforts to do the same and a much-needed financial boost to help further their missions.
If you’d like to nominate a non-profit organization for the Dyer Difference Award, please visit www.dyerdifference.org or find Dyer Difference on Facebook.
