Officers and athletes ‘Bagging for Bucks’ in Merced
Athletes got the help of Merced County law enforcement agencies as they bagged groceries at Save Mart this week to raise money for the Special Olympics of Northern California.
A handful of officers from the UC Merced Department of Public Safety, and the Merced and Livingston police departments on Wednesday placed items in shopping bags for shoppers and offered to help them to their cars during the annual Bagging for Bucks fundraiser.
Buckets set out at each register collected “tips,” which all go to benefit the annual athletic event, according to organizer Sgt. Jeff Godfrey. “This is a great opportunity for our community to come together and show support for our athletes,” he said.
Officers at the grocery store also offered to fingerprint children for free to provide parents with a photograph and fingerprint record of their children.
The Special Olympics events continue next week, when the Merced County Law Enforcement Torch Run begins at 7 a.m. Wednesday at the Lake Lot at UC Merced, 5200 N. Lake Road.
Officers from UC Merced, Merced Police Department, Merced County Sheriff’s Department, Merced County Probation Department and the California Highway Patrol are set to participate in the run, Godfrey said.
The roughly 16-mile run lasts about four hours and ends at the Livingston Police Department, 1446 C St., Livingston.
Although law enforcement officers are the only runners allowed to carry the torch, anyone can run alongside torch carriers or cheer encouragement. A crowd often gathers on M Street near the Merced Police Department, 611 W. 22nd St., Godfrey said.
This is the fourth year of the run in Merced.
More than 97,000 volunteers participate in the torch run in 46 nations and all 50 U.S. states. In 2012, the event raised $42.6 million for local Special Olympics programs, according to the organization’s website.
The torch run ends June 26 at UC Davis before the athletics kick off that weekend.
This story was originally published June 11, 2015 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Officers and athletes ‘Bagging for Bucks’ in Merced."