ROME, NY – The calendar says Spring, but the only thing on the minds of those who attended the 3rd annual Cops vs. Coaches game at Rome Free Academy Saturday was Christmas.
Members of the Rome police department took on coaches from RFA in a basketball game to raise money for Rome PD’s Shop With a Cop program.
Detective Jeffery Lanigan says the program not only brings a smile to the kids’ faces but to the officers as well.
“It’s an experience I can’t even describe. As far as the look on these kids faces when we hand them a $100 gift card and say pick out whatever you want. A lot of them don’t have the opportunity to walk into a store like Walmart and spend $100 on whatever they feel like.”
This year it was the coaches who took home bragging rights, winning 71 to 67.
The real winners though were the kids.
