For the sixth year in a row, EPPD staff got to brighten people’s holidays with the help of a generous donation from the Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund.

The Crime Prevention Fund provided $50 cash for 75 department members to distribute to a community member as they saw fit. An anonymous donor provided funding for the program.

EPPD staff members gave away the money throughout December. Here are a few of the recipients of the Crime Prevention Fund’s gift:

• Baseball equipment for two kids whose father was recently jailed.
• Several officers pooled their money to take two children who have a difficult home life holiday shopping at Scheels, who also contributed $200.
• A domestic assault victim who needed help with a place to stay for the night.
• A Good Samaritan who was helping shovel out another person’s car that was stuck in the snow.
• A family who ran out of gas and who had recently lost a relative.
• A teenager working numerous hours to pay rent for his disabled mother.
• An officer purchased two snow tubes for a family new to the United States who didn’t have anything to go sledding with their daughter.
• A Good Samaritan who stopped to help a stranded vehicle during a snowstorm then stayed with the driver until a tow truck came. He also helped translate between the driver and the officers.
• A mother of a family in need so she could buy her child a winter jacket.
• A server at a restaurant who was working at several large tables and wasn’t treated well by all of his customers.

The EPPD is deeply grateful to the Crime Prevention Fund for allowing us to share joy with our residents during the holidays.