Cram the Cruiser this Saturday at Norwich PD
The monthly Cram the Cruiser event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., this Saturday, November 13, at the Norwich Police Department. Volunteers will be set up in front of the building, weather permitting, to accept donations of hats, gloves, and mittens for those in need. (Submitted photo)
NORWICH — The monthly Cram the Cruiser event is back this week to collect items for community members in need. Started in the summer of 2021, Cram the Cruiser collects different things each month based on community need, such as food items, school supplies, and more. This month they are accepting donations for hats, gloves, and mittens.
The event is put on by CVFree Church, and held at the Norwich Police Department from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 13. Donations can be dropped off in the front of the building, weather permitting.
"In the event that the weather is nice, certainly the volunteers would be out front. But they park a cruiser on the front lawn as a symbol to remind people," said CVFree Church Pastor Jen Westervelt. "In the event of inclement weather the donations are collected out in the back of the police department in the garage."
"Probably through the winter months we'll largely be collecting out back in the garage," she added.
Cram the Cruiser is held on a monthly basis, on the Saturday before the third Thursday of the month. Items collected during Cram the Cruiser are sorted through and prepared for the Helping Hands donation event, which is held on the third Thursday of each month at the Norwich Family YMCA.
"What happens is those donations are all collected and then brought back to CVFree Church. They're combined with the donations from our CVFree Church family, and prepared for distribution at the YMCA for that month’s Helping Hands distribution," said Westervelt.
Volunteers with Cram the Cruiser also coordinate with Helping Hands to determine what is most needed in the community at that time.
"The team of CVFree decides what is being collected that month, and they'll reach out to Lori Race who is the coordinator of Helping Hands, to make sure that whatever is being thought of as a donation is on point with what she feels the need is," Westervelt explained.
She also explained that the events began as part of the Community Advisory Board (CAB) initiative to address police reform. The goal was to foster a positive relationship between the community and the police department.
"That back and forth connection between the two entities, the community and the police department, was a really important part of the work we were doing on that Community Advisory Board. And along with that, there was a real need to be able to see community members associating the police department in a positive way," said Westervelt. "We could think of Cram the Cruiser as an opportunity to say, I'm going to go to my local police department here in the City of Norwich, and I'm going to donate items that people from our community need."
The efforts of the Cram the Cruiser events have created connectedness between community members, the police department, and several local organizations.
"We now have wonderful people from our community who are giving of their time to collect the donations, in partnership with the police department, and we're enabling other wonderful community members, who have a heart to donate and support Helping Hands, by facilitating this opportunity for them to bring the donations," said Westervelt. "Then Helping Hands is also benefiting through what is provided. So it's just a really nice web of success for our community."
Additionally, Westervelt gave her thanks to the Norwich Police Department, who she said welcomes the team of volunteers each month.
"Just to give a shout out to the police department, I will say they are incredibly supportive of this effort. When our volunteers go there, they're always very accommodating, and if scheduling permits they will pop out at times and greet people who are donating items," she explained. "It's just a nice way to break down that barrier, that perception, that police officers are scary and always catching me doing bad things, you know? There's so much more than that. They are integral members of our community in such a positive way, in addition to keeping us safe."
For those who wish to donate, but cannot make it to the store in time to purchase hats, gloves, or mittens before this Saturday, Westervelt said monetary donations are also welcome.
"There have been some generous community members who have not been able to go shopping to get the items, but they have donated monetarily," said Westervelt. "They can just come to Cram the Cruiser and drop off that monetary donation. Or they can also, if they want to be able to reach out to the church for more details on how to do that, they can."
"We're not looking for money to do this, we'd rather have the donations come. But if they aren't able to make it to the store in time for Cram the Cruiser, or getting to the store is a hardship, that is a viable option," she added.
In addition to running Cram the Cruiser, CVFree Church also holds services every Sunday, at 9 and 10:30 a.m.
"We welcome the community to come. It's a casual, contemporary service," said Westervelt.
More information on Cram the Cruiser and CVFree Church can be found on their Facebook page, or on their website, cvfree.church.
The event is put on by CVFree Church, and held at the Norwich Police Department from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 13. Donations can be dropped off in the front of the building, weather permitting.
"In the event that the weather is nice, certainly the volunteers would be out front. But they park a cruiser on the front lawn as a symbol to remind people," said CVFree Church Pastor Jen Westervelt. "In the event of inclement weather the donations are collected out in the back of the police department in the garage."
"Probably through the winter months we'll largely be collecting out back in the garage," she added.
Cram the Cruiser is held on a monthly basis, on the Saturday before the third Thursday of the month. Items collected during Cram the Cruiser are sorted through and prepared for the Helping Hands donation event, which is held on the third Thursday of each month at the Norwich Family YMCA.
"What happens is those donations are all collected and then brought back to CVFree Church. They're combined with the donations from our CVFree Church family, and prepared for distribution at the YMCA for that month’s Helping Hands distribution," said Westervelt.
Volunteers with Cram the Cruiser also coordinate with Helping Hands to determine what is most needed in the community at that time.
"The team of CVFree decides what is being collected that month, and they'll reach out to Lori Race who is the coordinator of Helping Hands, to make sure that whatever is being thought of as a donation is on point with what she feels the need is," Westervelt explained.
She also explained that the events began as part of the Community Advisory Board (CAB) initiative to address police reform. The goal was to foster a positive relationship between the community and the police department.
"That back and forth connection between the two entities, the community and the police department, was a really important part of the work we were doing on that Community Advisory Board. And along with that, there was a real need to be able to see community members associating the police department in a positive way," said Westervelt. "We could think of Cram the Cruiser as an opportunity to say, I'm going to go to my local police department here in the City of Norwich, and I'm going to donate items that people from our community need."
The efforts of the Cram the Cruiser events have created connectedness between community members, the police department, and several local organizations.
"We now have wonderful people from our community who are giving of their time to collect the donations, in partnership with the police department, and we're enabling other wonderful community members, who have a heart to donate and support Helping Hands, by facilitating this opportunity for them to bring the donations," said Westervelt. "Then Helping Hands is also benefiting through what is provided. So it's just a really nice web of success for our community."
Additionally, Westervelt gave her thanks to the Norwich Police Department, who she said welcomes the team of volunteers each month.
"Just to give a shout out to the police department, I will say they are incredibly supportive of this effort. When our volunteers go there, they're always very accommodating, and if scheduling permits they will pop out at times and greet people who are donating items," she explained. "It's just a nice way to break down that barrier, that perception, that police officers are scary and always catching me doing bad things, you know? There's so much more than that. They are integral members of our community in such a positive way, in addition to keeping us safe."
For those who wish to donate, but cannot make it to the store in time to purchase hats, gloves, or mittens before this Saturday, Westervelt said monetary donations are also welcome.
"There have been some generous community members who have not been able to go shopping to get the items, but they have donated monetarily," said Westervelt. "They can just come to Cram the Cruiser and drop off that monetary donation. Or they can also, if they want to be able to reach out to the church for more details on how to do that, they can."
"We're not looking for money to do this, we'd rather have the donations come. But if they aren't able to make it to the store in time for Cram the Cruiser, or getting to the store is a hardship, that is a viable option," she added.
In addition to running Cram the Cruiser, CVFree Church also holds services every Sunday, at 9 and 10:30 a.m.
"We welcome the community to come. It's a casual, contemporary service," said Westervelt.
More information on Cram the Cruiser and CVFree Church can be found on their Facebook page, or on their website, cvfree.church.
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