Watch above: Edmonton police recruits had a special assignment Sunday, which involved bringing holiday cheer to one of their own. Eric Szeto reports.
EDMONTON — The holiday season is upon us and for many it’s a time to give as well as receive. That was the case in Sherwood Park Sunday morning, as recruits from the Edmonton Police Service gave back to a fellow officer in need of a bit of help.
“It’s actually a volunteer opportunity for class 131,” said Travis Larsen, who is part of the class. “It’s almost like a tradition in EPS, (with) every recruit class. It’s been going on for a long time and it’s great to do.”
Nine members of class 131 spent the day stringing lights on Det. Bryce Clarke’s home. He’s a quadriplegic and couldn’t do the job by himself. Clarke normally gets his brother-in-law to help him, but he’s working out of town this year.
“I have to ask people for help every day,” said Clarke. “To have such an overwhelming response, that they’re going to come and do this for me … it’s what the Christmas season is all about.”
The act isn’t without reward, though. Instead of paying a company to string his lights, Clarke decided to make a donation to class 131. The donation will go towards paying for their graduation function, which members pay for themselves.
“I was in headquarters and I just saw one of the fundraising pamphlets for the recruits and I thought, ‘They may be interested in making a bit of money,'” said Clarke.
And he was right.
“We do as many volunteer opportunities as we can in an attempt to raise money for our graduation,” said Larsen, whose class graduates in July. “We’ve done a few volunteer things that haven’t netted us profit for our graduation, but we’re just happy to help out wherever we can.”
The help is much appreciated by Clarke, who is happy to donate to the class’s graduation fund.
“Any time you can help out a recruit class whenever you can, it’s a way of giving back. That’s what I’ve tried to do a lot of,” he said.
“It’s always nice to give something and not just receive.”
Plus, spending the day with the young recruits brought back some very fond memories for Clarke.
“You hear these guys talking about class and you’re hearing about a lot of their experiences already and it brings back a lot of memories,” he said with a big smile on his face.