The Eastern Connecticut State University police department joined the Willimantic and Middletown police departments for the sixth annual Tip-A-Cop on July 25 at Amici Italian Grill in Middletown. All tips earned at the fundraising event went to the Special Olympics of Connecticut, the designated charity of law enforcement in the state.
Public safety officers traded in their uniforms for aprons and waited tables at the restaurant. All tips went to the fundraiser in addition to Amici donating 10 percent of all sales that day, contributing to a grand total of $1,650 for the Special Olympics of Connecticut.
Angelo Simoni, executive director of student relations and compliance for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities System and a Tip-A-Cop event organizer, said, “The Special Olympics is a great organization that does a lot of great work for the people of Connecticut. More than 13,000 people benefit across the state from this partnership!” Tip-A-Cop has raised more than $15,000 over the last six years, according to Simoni.
Eastern’s police department is a long-time supporter of the Special Olympics of Connecticut. Another annual fundraiser is Jail-N-Bail, in which officers ‘arrest’ members of Eastern’s campus community who are then ‘bailed’ out of a fake jail. All proceeds go to the Connecticut Special Olympics. Eastern police also participate in the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which kicks off the local Special Olympics games every year.
