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Crime & Safety

To Protect and Serve – Sonic Burgers

The Manchester Police Department will don rollers skates to deliver food at the Sonic in town on Monday, Aug. 22, to raise money for the Special Olympics.

Police officers have plenty of experience with patrolling the neighborhoods in their cruisers and ensuring sure the community is safe and free of crime. However, do they have experience with roller skates and carrying food to customers?

Well, the public will find out the answer to that question on Monday, Aug. 22, as the Manchester Police Department will be serving food at .

Between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. on that day, police officers will be cruising around the Sonic parking lot on roller skates delivering fast-food to customers, all to help out Special Olympics Connecticut in a fundraiser called Tip-a-Cop.

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The police department will be asking for tips from customers, and 100 percent of what the police officers raise will directly support the Special Olympics.

“This is a great opportunity to earn some money for them [the Special Olympics],” Officer Stacey Forish of the Manchester Police Department said. “We thought this would be perfect with the great following that Sonic has, and we are very excited about it. We really thank Sonic for giving us this opportunity.”

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Police officers will be stationed throughout the parking lot, as they deliver food and talk to people about how important this cause is.

“We want to reach out to the community and offer help to the Special Olympics,” Forish said. “Anybody can give whatever amount they want to give. Whatever somebody can spare will be great.”

Robert Mesite, owner and operations manager at Sonic, said it has been quite busy at the Manchester site since it opened on June 8, when they set a .

“Now that we have been open for two months and have more time, we want to concentrate on the community,” Mesite said. “We’re very glad we can help the police department out and support the Special Olympics. And also, people get to enjoy some great food at the same time.”

Sonic serves burgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches and wraps, breakfast burritos and sandwiches, fries, tater tots, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, among other food items. To see their menu and for more information, log on to http://www.sonicofct.com/.

Forish said that the Manchester Police Department has also taken part in past fundraising events for the Special Olympics, including the . This was a three-day event, in which police officers from all over the state took turns to carry the Special Olympics “Flame of Hope” across the state.

They helped carry the torch to the opening ceremonies of the 2011 Special Olympics Summer Games at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. The officers raised money for the Special Olympics, as they covered over 530 miles and sailed through 100 cities and towns.

In addition, the Manchester Police Department spent a day in July pumping gas and washing windows to raise money for the Special Olympics Connecticut at Irving Oil in Manchester.

Sarah Bellerive, who is the Corporate Relations and Special Events Coordinator for Special Olympics Connecticut, said they are thrilled that the Manchester Police Department is helping them out again.

“The donation tips will directly provide year-round training and competition for over 13,000 athletes and partners,” Bellerive said. “Some of the athletes will be there on Monday, so people can meet the athletes and see exactly where the donations are going towards.”

According to its website, the mission of the Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. This will give them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

For more information on the Special Olympics Connecticut, log on to http://www.soct.org/.

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