Albany cops at doughnut shop for good cause

ALBANY — The cops converged on Krispy Kreme at 400 N. Slappey Blvd. Friday, but it wasn’t criminals or doughnuts they were after. These officers of the Albany and Dougherty police departments and the Dougherty Sheriff’s Office came to raise support for Georgia’s special athletes.

Kristin Caso with the Albany Recreation and Parks Department, and organizer of the 10th annual Cops On Doughnut Shops event, said money raised from the statewide program helps fund intellectually challenged athletes through the Atlanta-based Special Olympics Georgia.

“This year we have athletes from Albany Advocacy Resource Center (ARC) and Recreation and Parks,” Caso said Friday. “A number of them will be attending the summer games at Emory University in two weeks.”

Caso said there are more than 25,000 Special Olympians in the state, with SOG providing many of them a chance to participate in one or more of the five yearly athletic events.

“They (Special Olympians) love to travel together,” Caso said. “They love to compete, attend dances for the athletes and make new friends. All this helps afford them those opportunities,”

Caso called Krispy Kreme, national sponsor for the events, a “melting pot,” of people from almost every walk of life, and a great venue for gathering donations.

“Everybody loves Krispy Kreme,” Caso said.

Event officials said that during the event, which continues today, rewards for those who donate to the cause will range from a free original glazed doughnut to a complimentary doughnut party for gifts of $1,000 or more. Volunteers hope to raise more than $15,000 this year, through donations and the sale of Special Olympics t-shirts and hats.

On Friday the cops were flashing their signs not only at Krispy Kreme, but from at least as far away as Hardee’s restaurant to the north and Harvey’s Supermarket to the south on North Slappey Boulevard.

Julie Wood, an investigator with the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office, was out with her sign and plastic bucket Friday, doing her part to meet the goal for Cops On Doughnut Shops.

“There are so many people out there who need assistance to compete,” Wood said. “It makes (the Olympians) feel so special that they’re doing something positive. To watch those with special needs excel at something, and to see the joy on their faces, it’s just awesome and worth everything we do to help them.”

Officials said law enforcement volunteers would be active at Krispy Kreme from 7 a.m. through 10 p.m. today.