Menlo Park Police Partner With Special Olympics

If you walk into for breakfast on Wednesday June 8^th and see eight Menlo Park police officers, don’t panic. They’re not there to arrest anyone; they’re going to be there waiting tables to raise funds for the Special Olympic Law Enforcement Torch Run. The program is called Tip A Cop.

Police officers from all California will be raising money through affiliated endeavors, so that police officers can run through the state bearing the Special Olympic Torch.

Doreen Roth, director of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics, is working with Menlo Park Police to organize the event. Roth said that the run is of the largest grassroots fundraisers for the Special Olympics, which has grown from a small event in Wichita, Kansas in 1981 to a global event that has raised more than $100 million in 35 countries. 

“I can’t say enough about the officers who come out and volunteer their time,” Roth said.  “It just shows you what wonderful human beings they are.”

More than 3,000 law enforcement officers are going to be participating in the event in Northern California. Eight out of 17 officers from San Mateo County who will be carrying the torch, which is called the “Flame of Hope,” are from the  

Officer Victoria Martinez, who is organizing the event at Stacks, will be one of them. Martinez said that one of the reasons that the event resumed after going on hiatus for a few years was that new police chief Bryan Robert wants to be more involved in the community.

“We still have budget cuts,” Martinez said, noting that everyone involved is a volunteer.  “All eight officers dedicated their own personal time to serve everybody,” she said.

And while she’s not sure if there are going to be special pancakes that day, “that’s a really good idea," she said.  “Too bad we don’t have stars or trees that we could make.”

Stacks Owner Geoffrey Swenson's regular staff will be in charge of cooking the breafast foods, while the officers serve them to customers.  Swenson said the reason he agreed to host the event at his restaurant is pretty simple. 

“I’ve always believed in giving back to the communities you benefit from,” Swenson said.” Our law enforcement is a vital part of our community; it’s one of the many things we the Stacks family support throughout the year.”

All tips will go toward funding The Law Enforcement Torch Run, which begins June 14, 2011 in advance of the Northern California Special Olympics Summer Games at U.C. Davis.  If all goes as planned, officers will run with the torch through Menlo Park on June 17.

From 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 8, 2011, you can find them weilding plates of food at , which is located at 600 Santa Cruz Avenue.