Thanks to a social media post by Pam Shepherd, an Apopka family is having a merry Christmas.
Shepherd, also of Apopka, posted on Facebook about a family that is struggling through various difficulties and when Dan Crane from Apopka Froggers restaurant and his wife, Brittany tagged Apopka Police Officer Jason Wiggins, it began what Shepherd describes as a domino effect that spiraled very quickly in the family’s favor.
Officer Wiggins, who is in charge of the department’s Shop with a Cop event held annually at the Walmart Supercenter in Apopka, made sure that the Conner/Ramon family was included in the police department’s event and then included the family to be part of a trip for youngsters to Icon Park in the International Drive area of Orlando.
“The Conner/Ramon family were truly blessed by persons/organizations who not only gave from their pockets but gave their time and their hearts and so much more to help this family, along with several others (130+ children in all). The smiles and happiness brought to the mom and her four children is beyond what words can express,” Shepherd wrote in her social media post.
The Conner/Ramon family has four children, one of them in the hospital.
Shepherd said the family had the privilege of being paired up with officers to go shopping with a $100 limit for each child, while the mom shopped for pajamas, blankets, stuffed animals, etc. for the child in the hospital.
The trip to Icon Park arrangement was made by Officer Wiggins and the APD, who paired up with the John Goodman, vice president of Icon Park, as well as Dawn of the Sausage Shack/Restaurant Tour Group Food Hall.
The full story starts on page 1A of the Friday, December 25, issue of The Apopka Chief.
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