The Kent Police Department hosted its third annual pancake breakfast on Sunday at the Applebee’s in Stow to raise money for local children for the holidays.

“We had a very successful morning,” said Kent Police Lieutenant Mike Lewis. “We raised $1,874 in total at the pancake breakfast.”

Last year, the department raised approximately $1,400.

A 50/50 raffle was also hosted at the event, which totaled at about $500. Marilyn Sessions, from Hometown Bank, won the raffle and immediately donated the winnings right back to the police department.

“Marilyn is an incredibly generous person and a tremendous supporter of Kent safety forces,” Lewis said.

Money raised from the breakfast will be put toward next weekend’s “Fill-a-Cruiser” event on Saturday, Dec. 12.

“We welcome everyone willing to help this cause to visit us at Kent Walgreens to fill the police cruiser with toys and food,” Lewis said. “Monetary donations are accepted as well and the money is immediately used to purchase more gifts for kids in the Kent area.”

The department takes all the money raised at the “Fill-a-Cruiser” event and immediately goes on a well-organized shopping trip to fulfill the needs and desires of the kids they are helping.

“I’ll confess, we get a lot of help from our spouses, families and friends with the shopping, as well as other events,” Lewis said.

After a late night on Saturday, the department will  start early on Sunday wrapping and tagging each gift to each child. The next several days prior to the event, Lt. Bob Treharn and other members of the Kent Police Department will deliver the gifts to the parents of each child to give to them on Christmas.

The Kent Police Department invites everyone in the community to come out and support this cause and help local children.

Carson Kleinman is the safety and transportation reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].