DONATION — Mingo Junction Division officials at JSW Steel USA Inc. presented Mayor Judy Ruckman and Police Chief Willie McKenzie III with a ceremonial check representing the company’s $2,500 donation to the Mingo Junction Police Department’s Christmas Cops and Cruisers program. From left are Dawn Covington, senior human resources generalist; Matt Davis, director of steel production; Jonathan Shank, COO; McKenzie; Ruckman; Melissa McCain, Treasury Manager; Matt Caprarese, vice president of engineering and health, safety and environment, and Virginia Smith, senior safety coordinator. — Christopher Dacanay

MINGO JUNCTION — Local children will receive early and free Christmas presents next month, thanks to an annual program by the Mingo Junction Police Department and a large donation from JSW Steel USA.

For the past four years, MJPD’s Cops and Cruisers for Christmas program has allowed busloads of children to buy their own Christmas presents alongside police officers. The gifts are fully paid for by the police and the village’s community fund, which is supported by private donations for community-focused activities.

Intended to promote police-community relations, the program received “phenomenal” participation last year with more than 60 children registered, Police Chief Willie McKenzie III recalled. The department hopes to gather donors this year to serve as many children as possible.

“Cops and cruisers, I think it’s a way we can connect with the community.” McKenzie said. “To be able to reach out and build a relationship with some of the kids who might feel like they’ve been left out for years. To be able to form a connection with them and let them know that they are loved and cared for.”

The mission is supported by a $2,500 donation from JSW Steel USA, which operates a steel manufacturing facility in the former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. plant. from Mingo Junction since 2018.

“We recently heard about the opportunity to support the program and collectively thought, as they say, ‘it takes a village,’ and well, we live and work in a great village.” said Jonathan Shank, COO of JSW USA Mingo Junction. “Our goal as a company is to take steps to be ‘better every day’, so this was a must. This is one way we can come together for the deserving children of our village and our first responders.

Shank continued: “I encourage leaders in our community to join this tradition of fostering a positive relationship between our officers and our next generation of leaders. This program may very well be the one thing that changes their trajectory to become our next police chief, community organizer or CEO that they can look back on fondly.”

“I want to give a big shout out to JSW on behalf of the police department and the community,” McKenzie said. “I’m sure I can also speak for the mayor and the Village Council. Everyone is grateful for JSW’s contribution to our event and we want to continue working with JSW in the future for future events, wherever else we can help each other.”

Parents can register their children for Cops and Cruisers by visiting the police department or the water department office at the city building, 501 Commercial St. Children must be Mingo Junction residents between the ages of 5 and 15. The application period will close on December 6.

The actual shopping will take place on December 12. Participants will gather at the town hall at 5:30 p.m., where they will be treated to food and drink. At 6 p.m., participants will be bussed to Wal-Mart for shopping. The Indian Creek Local School District has donated two buses for the event each year, McKenzie said.

Indian Creek staff and teachers will be on hand for the event along with MJPD officers, McKenzie said, adding that this atmosphere is “Just like in a family, where the children feel safe.”

“(These) are the kids who will be willing to come to you if something were to happen to them — to trust you and know that you’re going to protect them and that you care about them.” McKenzie said. “(They) will let you know things that you need to know about what happened to them, what’s going on. That’s just building trust.”

To date, 30 children have been registered for the event, and there is currently no limit to the number of children that can be registered. Each child will be allocated $100 to spend on gifts.

With JSW’s donation, nearly $4,000 was raised for this year’s program, which McKenzie said is able to continue because of the generous and continued support of community members. To donate, checks should be made payable to the Mingo Junction Police Department. Any remaining funds will go back to the police and community fund and contribute to future community building activities.

“The goal is to raise money from the community to put back into the community.” McKenzie said of the fund, which was established in 2020.

The boss thanked Melissa McCain, treasury manager for JSW, who provided a “ecstatic” and prompt response to his donation request. McKenzie also expressed gratitude for MJPD officers, whose work, he said, is made possible by divine protection.

“I want to obviously thank God for continuing to protect our officers and continuing to keep us focused on the community, giving back and doing the right thing, essentially by our community.” McKenzie said. “I want to thank my officers for the great work they continue to do, year after year, as none of this would be possible without them.”