Breakfast at the Son Rise Café was the perfect place to end the Tip-a-Cop program for this year. The restaurant was filled with regulars most of them greeted by name at the door; the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office volunteers were hustling to keep coffee cups filled and tables cleaned for the next in line. The coziness of the restaurant on a rainy Tuesday morning allowed for a lot of interaction between the sheriff’s deputies and the customers.
The Tip-a-Cop program to benefit the Special Olympics started nationally several decades ago by a chain restaurant. The restaurant did not exist in The Villages, but retired Lt. Bobby Caruthers liked the idea and decided to start the same program with local restaurants.
“We are right at thirty years of doing this,” said Caruthers. “We’ve done it with a lot of different restaurants in the county. Some really like it and repeat. The restaurants have been really good to us.”
He added, “The customers enjoy it too. They enjoy interacting with law enforcement in a fun way and giving to a good cause.”
George and Suzette Flageole are regulars at Son Rise, but came specifically on Tuesday morning to participate in Tip-a-Cop. “We have two special needs great-grandsons, so we wanted to be here today to contribute.”
Customers Peggy and Nick DiEleuterio, did not know about the event ahead of time, but fully got into the swing of things, leaving a tip and buying the T-shirt. Nick enjoyed the back and forth with several of the officers.
Deputies Kristi Jaimes and John Causey really had a handle on things. They were cleaning tables, taking orders and putting together tables for large parties as though they had worked at the restaurant for years. Although Causey has no restaurant experience, Jaimes worked in a restaurant for several years in her younger days. “It is a lot of fun doing this event,” said Jaimes. “I like getting out and getting to know the community.”
As far as being a restaurant server, “It
all comes back to you,” she said.
The final tally is not yet in from today’s event, but Beth Hunt, Community Outreach Coordinator for the Sumter Sheriff’s office, said that the previous three Tip-a-Cop events have raised more than $4,000.
“We are very involved in a lot of community events,” said Hunt.” Next up is Derby Day on May 6.”
This event raises money for the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch. Information about this event can be found by going to www.sumtercountysheriff.org.