The lodge hosted 127 children at Walmart on Dec. 14 during its annual Cops and Kids shopping event.

Participating law enforcement agencies included U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, U.S. Air Force from Minot Air Force Base’s 5th, 91st, 791st and 891st Security Forces squadrons, MHA Nation Drug Enforcement Agency, N.D. Highway Patrol, N.D. Game and Fish, N.D. Probation and Parole, Minot Police Department, Surrey Police Department, Minot Area Law Enforcement Cadet Unit 1020 and county sheriff’s offices in Bottineau, McHenry, Mountrail, Sheridan and Ward counties.

Prior to the Cops and Kids event, the lodge held its annual Stuff a Squad toy drive at Walmart, inviting the public to help stuff a vehicle with toys. In 2025, donations filled four squad cars. Shoppers have helped fill as many as six squad cars in the past, Lodge #7 President Aaron Moss said.

The toys and cash donations go to local charities that work with children and families.

Submitted Photo U.S. Air Force Defenders, law enforcement officers and community members pose for a group photo during the annual Cops and Kids event at a Walmart in Minot Dec. 14. Service members volunteered their time to assist children while they shopped for holiday gifts as part of a community outreach event. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Luis Gomez.

“We also recognize that this is kind of a way to supplement what we do with Cops and Kids as a shopping event, because we can’t possibly reach out to every child in that one day. This way we help other organizations in the community,” Moss said.

The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is the oldest law enforcement organization for sworn officers in the country, with about 380,000 members nationwide and more than 1,400 members in North Dakota, Moss said.

Souris Valley Regional Lodge #7 includes the Minot and Ward County area but members also have come from a number of other agencies, including sheriff’s departments in Renville, Bottineau and McLean counties, the Three Affiliated Tribes Police and MHA Nation Drug Enforcement, Stanley Police Department and N.D. Game and Fish.

Minot AFB Security Forces has been part of the Cops and Kids event even prior to the formation of the lodge about 15 years ago, Moss said.

Local law officers informally started a Shop with a Cop event 22 years ago that continued with the formation of the lodge. Paul Burns, now a retired Minot police officer, was instrumental in that program and Stuff a Squad and deserves credit for how successful it has been over the years, Moss said. Because of Burns’ efforts, the Cops and Kids event in Minot is consistently the largest in the state in participation, he said.

Cops and Kids is a national program that is administered locally. Around the state, that administration can differ. For instance, in Minot, cops shopping with the children is the focus, but in some communities, it works better for lodges to shop for families and deliver the gifts, Moss said.

Lodge #7 raises money in the community for the program and works with schools and social service programs to identify participants. Walmart has been a major supporter in recent years, but the program also has worked with other Minot box stores in the past.

Children are invited to buy for their families or for themselves. The important thing is the children are finding joy in the process.

“We want it to be for those kids,” Moss said.

While the holiday events are the lodge’s main activities, Moss said the organization also has donated to schools and teachers to assist students with school supplies. Some lodges in the state conduct a shopping event with children for back-to-school supplies.

Lodge #7 also has been a consistent supporter of the Northern Plains Children’s Advocacy Center, which serves children who have been victims of abuse.

“Locally, we are also very observant of what other nonprofits are doing, particularly when it comes to helping children,” Moss said. “Those organizations are best at knowing how to serve their clients. We reach out to them and work with them to better serve their clients and it all comes back to a bigger umbrella of community service.”

Additionally, FOP acts as a voice for its members in working with law enforcement administration and with state and local government policymakers on issues impacting law enforcement.