SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Benevolent Fund provides ways for the Soap Lake Police Department to support the community and build a positive relationship with local residents at the same time.t.

“A kid’s bike gets stolen, (if) we can’t find it, we have the ability to buy the kid a bike or a family’s house burns down, it gives us the ability to go buy clothes or basic supplies for somebody,” said Soap Lake Police Chief Ryan Cox.

The Benevolent Fund is supported through grants, donations, and fundraisers put on by SLPD, Cox said. The money used for community outreach purposes was converted from a fund only used for the department’s annual Shop with a Cop event to the Benevolent Fund in January 2020. This allows SLPD to use the funds for more than just the once-a-year event, Cox said. Shop with a cop is an event that has been held for more than five years at the Soap Lake Police Department to take a few select underprivileged children a year to go on an expenses-paid Christmas shopping trip with officers.

“So we could utilize those funds, donation funds, for more than just Shop with a Cop,” Cox said. “So to change it to (the) Benevolent (Fund) gives us the opportunity to use those funds for any time during the year.”

In the last year, the Benevolent Fund has been used to support Shop with a Cop, the 2022 soap box races, purchasing school supplies for the Soap Lake School District, buying and delivering Thanksgiving dinners and even obtaining a bucket swing seat for a Soap Lake playground.

Cox also explained that SLPD has a small stack of various gift cards to local businesses like Akins that officers can give out where they see fit to support community members who are struggling.

“We’ve bought for some of our homeless people a hotel room for the night when we’re in the negative (temperatures), you know, negative 15 overnight and they’re sleeping in a car or in a tent,” said Cox. “The humane thing to do is to put somebody (in a hotel room) because we don't have a warming center.”

Even though the fund has been expanded for other uses, Cox said his favorite thing to use the fund for is Shop with a Cop.

“It's always been Shop with a Cop, it always will be Shop with a Cop,” said Cox. “The ability to provide not only a kid but a family with an adequate Christmas that would not be able to afford it is probably the best thing to do in this world.”

Cox said circumstances are different for everyone but he was fortunate in his upbringing.

“For me to either walk through their shoes or realize other people’s struggles, whether they’re asked for or not, and to provide something is probably one of the greatest things that I’ve ever been able to do in this profession,” Cox said.

Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.

Want to help?

To donate to the benevolent fund, call the Soap Lake Police Department at 509-246-1122 or mail donations to: SLPD, PO Box 1270, Soap Lake, WA 98851. Donations may also be dropped off at 239 Second Ave. SE in Soap Lake.