Assist The Officer
Law enforcement officers serve and protect our communities. They face tremendous work-related challenges daily, often risking their lives to ensure our safety. When an officer is injured, a setback can bring financial ruin – especially if the officer is the sole provider for a family. During recovery, the last thing an officer should have to worry about is how he or she will make ends meet. The Assist the Officer Foundation (ATO) is here to help!
ATO provides financial assistance to officers who are facing the loss of income due to a serious injury, life-threatening illness or other catastrophic event. Immediate assistance is also available to an officer’s family in the event of a line of duty death of an active officer.
Since its creation in 1999, the foundation has provided assistance to hundreds of officers and their families who were faced with any number of different life-altering situations.
Please visit our website www.atodallas.org to learn how you can help make a difference for an injured or fallen officer. You will quickly discover that the men and women who serve are very much like you…and need you just as much as you need them.
Dallas Police Choir
In 1983, President Dick Hickman wanted to revive “The Choirboys”, a chorus of Dallas Police Officers who would sing Christmas carols to groups of children and the elderly during the holidays in the 1930s. An appeal went out to the members of the Dallas Police Association for volunteers to participate. Dan Whittington, Crista Walker and Dan Carpenter met and formed the Dallas Police Choir in 1983. Their goal was not to just sing Christmas carols during the holiday season but to create a professional chorus of Dallas Police Officers.
Celebrating The choir’s original members were Dan Whittington, Dan Carpenter, Crista Walker, Gene Hagen, Bill Humphrey, Deb Meloncon, Kathy Wolf, Chuck Layer, Wes Mikel, Rodney Seitz, Bill Moser, Grant Richardson and Rick Andrews.
Celebrating The choir’s original members were Dan Whittington, Dan Carpenter, Crista Walker, Gene Hagen, Bill Humphrey, Deb Meloncon, Kathy Wolf, Chuck Layer, Wes Mikel, Rodney Seitz, Bill Moser, Grant Richardson and Rick Andrews.
The Dallas Police Choir, under the sponsorship of the Dallas Police Association, held its first rehearsal at the DPA Meeting Hall at 2108 Jackson Street, Dallas, Texas on February 7, 1984. The Dallas Police Choir made its first debut performance on April 4, 1984 to Dallas Police Chief Billy Prince, his Assistant and Deputy Chiefs, and to the Dallas City Manager and his staff.
The Dallas Police Association sponsored the Dallas Police Choir for several years enabling the Choir to travel abroad as they presented a different image of law enforcement. Eventually, the funding and operations of the Dallas Police Choir were assumed by the Dallas Police Department.
Santa Cops
In 1984, Dallas Police Officers created and developed a program known as Santa Cops to assist members of the community who have been victims of crime, and as a result of that act, they are unable to provide for their children during the holidays. Through Santa Cops, the Dallas Police Department is able to offer assistance to members of the community by providing toys and food during the Christmas season. The Santa Cops program has santacop assisted over 10,000 families throughout the years and has been the topic of yearly news reports on local television stations and stories in the Dallas Morning News and Police News.
Santa Cops – Providing Christmas to disadvantaged families since 1984!
This program typically delivers the fruits of its efforts to citizens of Dallas on the Saturday before Christmas. A Santa Cops request form is completed by members of the Dallas Police Department who have identified a family in need. This form is then forwarded to the selection committee to determine if the family meets the program’s eligibility criteria. Those that are selected, based on officers’ observations and comments, are prioritized by need. The next step is the best part of the process…watching the children’s faces when officers bring the toys to their homes.
Santa Cops – Providing Christmas to disadvantaged families since 1984!
This program typically delivers the fruits of its efforts to citizens of Dallas on the Saturday before Christmas. A Santa Cops request form is completed by members of the Dallas Police Department who have identified a family in need. This form is then forwarded to the selection committee to determine if the family meets the program’s eligibility criteria. Those that are selected, based on officers’ observations and comments, are prioritized by need. The next step is the best part of the process…watching the children’s faces when officers bring the toys to their homes.
DPA Spouses Group
This group functions as a support system that encourages development of relationships and friendships among the spouses of DPA members. The relationships established are intended to help spouses cope with the stress and demands that accompany a law enforcement relationship.
The mission of “Spouses Behind the Badge” is dedicated to supporting current and retired spouses of Dallas Police Officers who are members of the Dallas Police Association through monthly activities, volunteerism in the community and serve as a resource to an officer’s family in the event of a serious injury or line of duty death. We are committed to delivering the above with a sense of warmth, friendliness and individual pride.
We hold monthly gatherings; host periodic, family-friendly activities; assist the DPA and ATO in fundraising for officers’ needs; and provide support for officers and their families in their times of need and times of joy.
The mission of “Spouses Behind the Badge” is dedicated to supporting current and retired spouses of Dallas Police Officers who are members of the Dallas Police Association through monthly activities, volunteerism in the community and serve as a resource to an officer’s family in the event of a serious injury or line of duty death. We are committed to delivering the above with a sense of warmth, friendliness and individual pride.
We hold monthly gatherings; host periodic, family-friendly activities; assist the DPA and ATO in fundraising for officers’ needs; and provide support for officers and their families in their times of need and times of joy.
9-99 Foundation
The National 9-99 Police and Sheriff Foundation raises funds for injured or fallen officers and their families, invests in K9 safety and training, and provides counseling and mental health resources to all officers in need.