October 1, 2012
From September 29th to September 30th, The University of Maryland Police Department was out in force to help raise money in support of the Special Olympics as Dunkin Donuts opened its doors at 5 am. Just 31 hours later, we reached our goal of $6,000.00 and exceeded it by raising a total of $6,471.11! This could not have been possible without the generous donations of the College Park community stopping by at Dunkin Donuts at 9710 Baltimore Avenue this past weekend.
For the second year in a row, we had a team of people that helped raise awareness; from officers on the roof and near the intersection of Route One to other UMDPS team members and Special Olympics partners raising awareness and interacting with customers as they entered the store. We accepted donations, sold raffle tickets, shirts, hats, and more.
Five officers took turns perched upon the rooftop of the Dunkin Donuts - keeping a Cop on Rooftop for 31 hours! These officers are Sgt. J. Brown, MPO Mable, PFC Powers, PFC Meekins, and Pvt. Dykstra. Also, congratulations are in order for Sgt. J. Brown, for defending his title and becoming the two-time donut eating champion! Sgt. J. Brown was the first to eat four whole donuts in three minutes.
A special thanks to the proprietor and staff of the College Park Dunkin Donuts for giving us the space and for donating donuts and coffee (everyone who donated was offered a free coffee). Without you this event would not have been possible.
Finally, a big thanks to the event organizers, Sgt. P. Miller and A/Sgt. R. Hoaas who made all of this possible. Without your time, effort, dedication, and energy, we wouldn’t be where we are at today.
I am extremely proud that our Department placed second out of seven in the total money raised in the Dunkin’ Doughnuts part of the competition. To all who took part: Thank you on behalf of the more than 10,000 Special Olympic athletes in Maryland! -- David B. Mitchell, Chief of Police
September 19, 2012
COPS TAKE TO THE ROOFTOP OF COLLEGE PARK DUNKIN’ DONUTS LOCATION IN SUPPORT OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS MARYLAND
College Park, MD - Police Officers from the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety will collect donations for Special Olympics Maryland on the rooftop of the College Park Dunkin’ Donuts the weekend of Sept. 29th - 30th, 2012.
Anyone who ever thought nothing good could come from cops sitting around (or in this case ON) a donut shop might reconsider that notion when “Cops on Rooftops” – a fundraiser for Special Olympics Maryland -- comes to the College Park Dunkin’ Donuts location on Saturday, September 29th through Sunday, September 30th, 2012.
As part of a national fundraising effort for Special Olympics Maryland, five good-natured officers from the University of Maryland Police Department – Officers Brown, Dykstra, Mable, Powers and Meekins have volunteered to spend the day on the roof of Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant at 9701 Baltimore Avenue, College Park, MD. Their collective fundraising goal is $6,000.00.
In 2009, the first year a Maryland location participated in the promotion, the Laurel Dunkin’ Donuts and Laurel Police Department raised more than $7,000. In 2010, five Dunkin Donut locations partnering with law enforcement raising $30,000 for Special Olympics Maryland. In 2011, eight Dunkin’ Donuts locations across the state took part in the program: Laurel, College Park, Westminster, Towson, Reisterstown, Havre de Grace, Mount Rainier and California.
Dunkin’ Donuts customers and the general public alike are encouraged to stop by and support the officers in their efforts to raise both funds and awareness for the Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics Maryland. Along with law enforcement volunteers who will be on the rooftop, other officers will greet customers inside and outside of the store, passing around donation jars and rallying support for the cause. There will also be a silent auction as well as a raffle for items. A merchandise table will also be set up, with Torch Run t-shirts for sale as well as raffle tickets for a 2011 Harley-Davidson XL1200 Nightster donated by Rommel of Annapolis Harley Davidson.
“Cops and donuts have a long, humorous history together, so it was only fitting that we team up with the great folks at Dunkin’ Donuts for this light-hearted event,” said David B. Mitchell, Chief of Police of the University of Maryland Police Department. “This event allows us to do something great for an incredible organization and poke a little fun at ourselves at the same time. What could be better than that?” The event was founded on the idea by the law enforcement officers of Illinois, who in 2009, took to the rooftops of 94 Dunkin’ Donuts locations across the state and raised more than $182,000.
SOMD is a year-round sports organization dedicated to providing quality sports training and competition opportunities to Maryland’s children and adults with intellectual disabilities and/or closely related development disabilities. SOMD currently serves 10,000 athletes statewide, and offers 28 sports, all at no cost to the athletes or their families. For more information about SOMD visit www.somd.org or call 410-789-6677.
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