It began with a gesture of gratitude.
California resident, Rachel, couldn't help but notice the way her local police were being treated - not only by the media, but by those around her, as well - and decided enough was enough. As a former firefighter who had often worked closely with police, she well knew the difficult job and stressful conditions police officers work under.
Because of this, Rachel made a point of thanking her local officers when she saw them about town. When she saw how the simple gesture of giving thanks affected those officers, she decided she needed to do more. So, in May of 2021, she began her Coins For Cops campaign.
In her own words on The Blue Family Unity Show:
It just came after a couple of weeks of seeing how sad and angry and defeated a lot of the police officers in my area looked and, you know, after hearing how the mainstream media especially was villainizing the police officers, I just - it angered me so much. I knew I wanted to do something. Now, I didn't know what I wanted to do right away and Coins for Cops kind of just materialized. But it just started with going out of my way to, like, go say thank you or shake a hand or smile and say hello. I mean even just that made a big difference.
The treatment of police officers by the government of late only fueled her commitment to her endeavor:
What I realized with this - especially now with the mandate issue - there's so many police officers - I'm sure you've seen the videos now that are starting to pop up - and they're incredibly sad. [Like] the 22 year veterans or the 15 year veterans who just became Sergeant, who are now being forced... it's not losing their jobs. I keep telling people that words mean things. [They're] not losing their jobs, they are being forced out of their jobs. This is not a choice and it's heartbreaking and it is not only heartbreaking it's dangerous. These are really the best of our best men and women... where does that leave the citizens, you know?
Rachel believed that now more than ever, she needed to take action. Almost entirely on her own, and while working two jobs, she dove into her plan to thank as many officers across the country as she possibly could. Along with hand written thank you notes, Rachel designed a special edition Challenge Coin to give away to officers - all at her own expense and the donations of others.
When asked how the the response has been, she acknowledged receiving some push back and negativity from some in her community, but not being one to back down from anyone, Rachel shrugged them off. She laughed as she relayed the initial reaction from the police officers themselves:
Before I had anybody delivered to, before I had my website name, before anything - I will say they were mostly skeptical, and I don't blame them. [They were like] "Who are you, and you wanna do what?" And I just wanted to give [you guys] a thank you gift. It was hard to get in at first. Now, it's really nice as I have the ability to say you know I've given to over 1100 officers I'm in multiple States and I'm now in Japan...
Rachel went on to say that now, many police officers even recognize her on the street as the "Coins for Cops lady." She is gratified, but humbled by the attention, but prefers to keep the focus on the men and women in Blue.
People don't realize all the wonderful things police do that never gets any recognition. That's why [on] my website I try the best I can to only put positive articles on there - all those things cops do, like they buy a hat and gloves for a homeless lady. There was... a police officer who saw this woman at a gas station just sitting there and he found out that she was so paycheck to paycheck, that she had to wait till midnight before she could have enough money to pay for her gas, and she was with her two year old. So, the police officer paid for her gas. He goes, 'you know we do this stuff all the time. Not that we want ready recognition for it, we just want people to know that what the media says about us is not true.'
If you'd like to help out, Rachel's organization offers both a direct donation option and an opportunity to "Adopt A Police Department." If you'd like to learn more, you can contact Rachel through her website, Coins For Cops.
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