Shop With A Cop To Benefit From Luminary Sale In Newtown

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, Pa. — Newtown Borough Mayor John Burke is again hoping to bathe the borough and the township in soft, peaceful candlelight to mark the anniversary of the September 11th terror attacks.

For the third year, Burke is organizing a summer luminary drive to light up the borough and the township while raising funds for Shop With a Cop, a program that pairs police officers with children on a pre-holiday shopping spree like no other.

Last year hundreds of elementary and early middle school children from the Council Rock School District who are facing life challenges, including a parent losing a job, tragedy, homelessness, military deployment, economic shortcomings, and other hardships, benefited from the program.

For the fifth year, the Newtown Township, Newtown Borough, Northampton and Upper Makefield police departments will be taking part in the early December event in conjunction with the Middletown Community Foundation and with the help and assistance of District Judge Mick Petrucci.

Shop With A Cop typically provides each child with $200 to purchase gifts for themselves and their family members. The kids are then joined on their holiday shopping spree by police officers from the three municipalities.

The magic that unfolds in the aisles and checkout lines at the Target store is priceless, not just for the child but also for the cops who get to be part of something really special.

On August 10 Burke, along with a small crew of volunteers, met inside the garage behind the Newtown Hardware House to assemble luminary kits for this year’s sale.

“There’s three parts to this,” explained Burke pausing for a moment from making luminary kits to share his vision. “We are going to remember, recognized and reflect.

“We’re going to remember the tragic events of that horrible day. And we are going to recognize our first responders,” said Burke.

The remembrance and recognition will take place Friday evening, Sept. 9 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Pickering Field.

“And then as we leave we are going to reflect as we walk home past the luminaries thinking about how we can make a difference for those people or what we can do differently in the community to make it a better place,” said Burke.

Between now and Friday, September 9 luminary kits will be sold at the Newtown Hardware House on South State Street or by contacting Burke directly via email at John.burke79@yahoo.com.

The kits can be purchased for $20 a piece with each kit containing a dozen bags, a dozen candles and a bag of sand.

This is the third year Burke is organizing the September 11th remembrance event, which drew a couple hundred people last year to Pickering Field to hear former Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker and to recognize and say thank you to Newtown’s first responders.

“The idea is just to stop and pause and pump the brakes a little from the world while we remember the first responders who ran into the towers 21 years ago and our own first responders who serve our community every day,” said Burke.

The community’s first responders, including the Newtown Ambulance Squad, the Newtown Township and Newtown Borough Police Departments and the Newtown Fire and Emergency Services will be invited to attend.

“Believe it or not it’s been 21 years since that horrible day,” said Burke of the terrorist attack on America that killed 2977 people, including 265 on four hijacked planes, 2,606 at the World Trade Center in New York and 125 at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Of the 2,977 victims killed, 412 were emergency workers in New York City who responded to the World Trade Center, including 343 firefighters from the New York City Fire Department; 37 police officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department; 23 police officers from the New York City Police Department; eight emergency medical technicians; and one New York Fire Patrolman.

The special evening on Sept. 9 will begin with music from 6 to 6:30 p.m. followed by welcoming remarks by Burke at 6:30 p.m. and a guest speaker.

Burke will also join District Judge Mick Petrucci in presenting a check to the Shop for a Cop program from the proceeds from the luminary sale.

After the ceremony, Burke said he’s hoping the streets of the borough and the township will be lit up with luminaries as everyone heads home.

“If everyone lights their luminaries prior to going to the remembrance it will be dark when everyone goes home and the hope is all the luminaries will be lighting their way home,” said Burke. “It will be nice and peaceful and will kind of ground people with everything going on in the
world.”