A day at the theatre with Local 328
Sometimes the best way to feel better is to get out of the
house. On Dec. 11, members of the Audubon police depart-
ment in Local 328 made this possible for nearly 25 families
with children fighting illness in the Ronald McDonald House
of Camden. Candice Gorman is one Local 328 member who
played a pivotal role in organizing this holiday excursion for
the first time so that families and children staying at the Ron-
ald McDonald House could escape their medical complica-
tions for a few hours to enjoy a mid-day holiday show.
“Kids who are sick basically spend months at a time there,
and so do their families,” Gorman explained. “[Local 328]
came up with the idea of taking them out of that environment
for the afternoon.”
In the hopes of helping families escape the gloom of medi-
cal stress, Local 328 police departments, including Barrington,
Haddon Heights, Haddonfield and Audubon all pitched in to
organize a trip to the Ritz Theatre, where families were given
tickets to see “Frosty the Snowman.” Members of 328 also pur-
chased and wrapped gifts for the children to create a holiday
experience they will never forget.
“The majority of the Audubon Police Department showed
up in uniform,” Gorman stated. “We pulled up in our police
units and pulled out every gift we possibly could. We even
brought Santa with us.”
Prior to being bused to the show, Local 328 members hosted
a Santa meet-and-greet in the Ronald McDonald House lobby.
As if spending time with Santa and receiving gifts from their lo-
cal heroes in law enforcement wasn’t enough to lift the spirits
of the children, Local 328 then helped usher the families onto
buses for transportation to the theatre for the show.
“It was so emotional and really gratifying to do something
for these kids who are going through so much,” Gorman point-
ed out. “Every day we kind of take our own [health] for granted.
To put a smile on their fa