Mentor police raise support for local food pantries during Fill-a-Cruiser event

Bryson Durst, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio
·2 min read

Nov. 12—Mentor police officers and cruisers lined the front of the city's Giant Eagle store, 8383 Tyler Blvd., on Nov. 12 in an effort to raise support for two local food pantries and interact with residents.

A department Facebook post said that it filled two cruisers with food and raised $2,067.99 as part of its 10th annual Fill-a-Cruiser Food Drive.

Sgt. Steven Ondercin said that the resources would go to support pantries at St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church, 9114 Lakeshore Blvd., and St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, 8560 Mentor Ave.

Nearly a dozen officers showed up for the event.

"Many of these officers are here on their own time to give back to the community," Ondercin said. "It's an excellent event for us to positively communicate with the public, and thanks to their generosity, we're able to provide a lot of food for those in need during the holiday time."

In addition to collecting the funds and food, the event also provided an opportunity for visitors like Melissa Sullivan and her children to meet the officers.

"Our kids are just police-obsessed, and we are really working right now in this season trying to give back, so I thought this was just a really cool event to come and do that so they could high-five some police officers but also donate some money and things like that," she said.

"The officers really are part of the community, and they really enjoy giving back to the community and having a positive interaction rather than just having to take somebody to jail or giving them a speeding ticket," Ondercin added. "This is a way for us to engage with the public, have a nice conversation and leave with a smile."

A city news release stated that the nine previous Fill-a-Cruiser events had filled 22 cruisers and raised nearly $17,000 in cash donations.

"It's just the generosity of the community that really makes this happen," Ondercin said. "We pull up and open the cruiser, and they do the rest. They fill the buckets with cash and bring us lots of goods."

"We're very fortunate in Mentor that we have very positive support from the community, and that's been true over the course of the last 10 years," he added.