Comments for a Cause - Iowa C.O.P.S.

Before April 1st comes to a close and hopefully my 5 year old son will stop telling me I have a worm on my head... I have to share about this month's Comments for a Cause program and give a recap on last month's program!  In the month of March I had 55 comments, creating a $27.50 donation to First Book.  Thank you to everyone for your support of this great organization that is trying to get books in the hands of all children in the United States.  In the month of April, I am honored to be donating $0.50 for every comment made on my blog to Iowa C.O.P.S.

Last Saturday morning, two Des Moines Police Officers were killed in a car accident while transporting a prisoner.  I was first made aware of this tragic, sad new early on Saturday morning when one of my sisters sent me a text saying "In case you've seen the news, I wanted to let you know that (her husband, my brother-in-law) is OK."  My brother-in-law is a Des Moines Police Officer and there have been a few times during his 3+ years of service that our family has gotten similar texts.  So, I figured there had been some type of police stand-off or big take-down where shots had been fired.  I wasn't prepared to search on the Des Moines news websites to see that two officers had been killed in the line of duty.

Being a family member of someone in public service can be difficult.  You know they are working hard everyday to protect everyone, but by doing so, they can often find themselves in danger.  I often have to remind myself that I know they have chose this as their career because they love it and wouldn't want to be doing anything else.  I know they genuinely care about making their home and community a better and safer place.  I know they strive to make changes of good in those that they help.  But I also know, there are risks in what they do everyday.

My heart and prayers goes out to the families of Officers Susan Farrell and Carlos Puente-Morales this week.  Even though they know why their loved ones worked hard every day in the field of public service, it can still be difficult to swallow the risks that happened on Saturday morning.  That is where Iowa Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) comes in to offer both emotional and financial support.

Iowa C.O.P.S. provides resources to surviving family members and affected co-workers of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.  These resources include counseling from both professionals and others who are police survivors, help with planning and organization of funerals, and support for memorial efforts.

I know these resources have been a huge benefit for all those mourning right now, and that is why I want to support these families and co-workers by donating $0.50 for every comment made on my blog throughout the month of April to Iowa C.O.P.S.  Please remember to Comment for a Cause all month long!