Making Sure to Clothe the Need to Succeed: LCCTC's Shop with a Cop Event 2023

One of SkillsUSA’s service projects has been to organize and inventory our school’s clothes closet. Students work together with other organizations like Peer Leaders and one of our newest programs, Service Occupations, to keep our student clothes closet well-stocked with wearable clothes fit for someone who rips their jeans or needs an outfit for an interview or needs a warm sweater or even a coat for the chilly days ahead! And one of the favorite service days that comes along with the hard work of organizing is to attend the annual Shop-with-a-Cop Shopping spree for the closet!

Our favorite School Resource Officer, Corporal James Hoyland has joined forces with SkillsUSA to make this magic happen. Corporal Hoyland is the type of person who sees a need, and if he can, he does what he can to fill that need. In addition to helping SkillsUSA sell meat sticks and candy bars to pay for competition and make the necessary connections with FFA’s Paws for a Cause and county K-9 teams, Corporal Hoyland joined with the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 21 to coordinate a “Shop with a Cop” field trip for SkillsUSA at Lawrence County CTC.

Thanks to a generous donation from the FOP Lodge 21, randomly selected senior SkillsUSA Members were eager to fill the school van and make their way to the mall for their shopping experience. This year’s main priority was to purchase good-quality socks, jeans, and shirts for both guys and girls at a price that could make the grant last as long as possible.

“We made sure to pick clothes for each size,” states junior SkillsUSA member Jhenevesza Miller from New Castle. “And because our members are so diverse with many different tastes, we are sure to have picked something that everyone might like!”

Joy Hudspath shares, “It’s really great for us to help our community,” she notes. “I love helping people and this is certainly a day I look forward to over the last few years.”

For these LCCTC SkillsUSA students, Shop with a Cop was, once again, a great experience! It’s a wonderful program that truly helps students, especially those who are tough on clothes as they learn a worthwhile skill. Corporal Hoyland says, “No student should have to worry about making sure they have what they need for school. I’m not gonna’ lie — this is one of my favorite days of the year.”

Thanks to the New Castle Police Department and the FOP Lodge 21, students who work hard to learn their trade at LCCTC can be sure they have what they need to succeed.