A decade ago, then-Bears defensive lineman Israel Idonije set out to make less fortunate Chicago children a little happier during the holidays.
His solution was to play Santa Claus of a sort by providing kids with money to buy presents for themselves or others. After a successful first year in 2006, Idonije’s charitable foundation altered the program’s focus in the second year, following a conversation with an elementary school student.
“I was at a school, and I had a police officer escorting me,” said Idonije, who played for the Bears from 2004-12. “As we were walking down the hall, one of the kids came into the hallway, saw the police officer and he yelled out, ‘Oh, I hate cops,’ and he ran back in [the classroom].
“So I sat with him in the hallway and I was talking with him, and he couldn’t actually justify why he hated cops. He was maybe 5, 6 [years old]. That was a learned reaction from something. So one of our board members was like, ‘We should add an element of this program,’ and that’s what we did.”
Now in its 10th year, the event has transformed into Shop with a Cop. Anywhere from 50 to 200 children and an average of 40 officers are involved each year. This year’s program takes place Thursday, and the young participants will get a chance to hit the stores after bowling and eating pizza with officers.
“It’s really an opportunity for these kids to build real relational connections with these officers that are in their neighborhoods and to understand that these officers are there to help them and to support them and to be a part of what they’re doing,” said Idonije, who still lives in Chicago.
“And then for the officers as well, some of these officers have been in these situations and in these areas for a long time and have seen some challenging things. It’s an opportunity for them to reconnect with the kids and with the neighborhoods and understand that they may be in a situation … [and] they may approach it a little differently and handle it a little differently through the relationships that have been built through this full day of spending this time together.”
With clashes between citizens and police such as the Laquan McDonald shooting dominating the news lately, Idonije said the program couldn’t be more important.
“I’ve been asked, ‘Are you going to cancel this year?'” he said. “And it’s like, ‘Cancel? We’ve been doing this program for years.’ And more so than ever during times of tribulations and times of distress in the community, that’s the time more than ever where you need to open your arms and love the people around you and connect with the people around you.”
Chris Sosa is RedEye’s sports editor. @redeyesportschi
Want to learn a new skill to help you land your next job? Start with the RedEye Skillz page.
