Special Olympics Says "Tip-A-Cop" at Fundraising Event

By Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Two entertaining and important Special Olympics fundraising events are coming to Hacienda. Celebrity waiters, a.k.a. Pleasanton Police Department officers, will help servers wait tables at the fun-filled Chevy's Tip-A-Cop event from 6:00 to 9:00 pm on Friday, May 26, and the public is invited.

Then, on Wednesday, June 8, 15 Pleasanton Police officers will sprint through Hacienda in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics.

Tip-A-Cop

At Tip-A-Cop, officers will get into the spirit by filling glasses, setting tables, getting silverware and generally helping out the servers and customers.

Funds raised by the police officers will directly support the local Tri-Valley Special Olympians participating in the Special Olympics games.

Carrying a Torch

The impressive Torch Run takes place in 50 states and 150 countries. This is the Run's sixth year in Pleasanton, and the fourth year that Hacienda has been selected for the Torch Run.

It's a fast track as officers take the torch handed off from Dublin Police officers at 9:30 am at Hacienda Drive and I-680. Then, the Pleasanton officers run through the park on Stoneridge Drive to Santa Rita Road, torch held high, from 9:30 to 10:00 am. At 10:20 they will hand off the torch to East Bay Regional Park officers at Shadow Cliffs Park on Stanley Boulevard.

The torch will arrive at the University of the Pacific in Stockton on June 9 for the Torch Lighting and Opening Ceremonies of the Northern California Special Olympics Games.

That's Not All

Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for individuals with mental retardation.

Sgt. Jim Balch of the Pleasanton Police Department is the local Torch Run coordinator and ran in the event four years ago.

"Sponsorship of the athletes is well-deserved as they work hard all year to compete in the June Special Olympics. The athletes have so much fun and they receive medals at all levels whether they come in first or sixth. It's heartwarming to watch them. They are extremely enthusiastic."

Hacienda's Goal Line Productions is sponsoring two athletes this year at the Northern California Special Olympics in Stockton.

For information on the Law Enforcement Torch Run contact Sgt. Jim Balch at the PPD, (925) 931-5187 or Susan Hulse, East Bay Regional Development Director for Special Olympics Northern California at (510) 553-9833, x25.

Photo: A group of police officers led the way on a previous year's Torch Run.

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