Riding the Ridge kicked off Shop With a Cop fundraising

  • School Resource Officers and Fannin County deputy sheriffs Jim Burrell, left, and Lieutenant Darvin Couch were busy getting hamburgers and hotdogs ready for the participants in Saturday’s Riding the Ridge to benefit Shop With a Cop.
    School Resource Officers and Fannin County deputy sheriffs Jim Burrell, left, and Lieutenant Darvin Couch were busy getting hamburgers and hotdogs ready for the participants in Saturday’s Riding the Ridge to benefit Shop With a Cop.
  • Dawn Cochran, Lauren Watkins, Stephen Dickey, Sarah Dickey and Kim Callihan, from left, were busy coordinating Riding the Ridge Saturday morning at Fannin County Middle School. A total of 44 Jeeps were signed up to participate in the event that traditionally kicks off fundraising for Shop With a Cop.
    Dawn Cochran, Lauren Watkins, Stephen Dickey, Sarah Dickey and Kim Callihan, from left, were busy coordinating Riding the Ridge Saturday morning at Fannin County Middle School. A total of 44 Jeeps were signed up to participate in the event that traditionally kicks off fundraising for Shop With a Cop.
  • A special t-shirt is designed every year that gives supporters a chance to remember Riding the Ridge.
    A special t-shirt is designed every year that gives supporters a chance to remember Riding the Ridge.
  • Dawn Cochran hands out a door prize to one of the lucky drawing winners at Saturday’s Riding the Ridge, an annual event held to raise funds for Shop With a Cop. Anyone wishing to donate to Shop With a Cop can do so at the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office or mail a check to P.O. Box 1706, Blue Ridge, Georgia, 30513.
    Dawn Cochran hands out a door prize to one of the lucky drawing winners at Saturday’s Riding the Ridge, an annual event held to raise funds for Shop With a Cop. Anyone wishing to donate to Shop With a Cop can do so at the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office or mail a check to P.O. Box 1706, Blue Ridge, Georgia, 30513.

    “Thank ya’all from the bottom of my heart,” Dawn Cochran told participants in Saturday’s Riding the Ride, the annual pilgrimage of Jeeps through Fannin County’s countryside to raise money for Shop With a Cop.

    Cochran spoke to the crowd before the 44 Jeeps gathered at Fannin County Middle School were about to pull out and head through the mountains from Aska Road to Suches.

    One of the ride’s organizers, Cochran could not hold back her emotions as she told participants the importance of their contribution. She talked of taking Fannin County’s less fortunate children shopping at Christmas. “It’s one of the most humbling experiences a person can ever do,” she said.

    Riding the Ridge is an annual effort that traditionally kicks off Shop With a Cop fundraising. That fundraising will continue with several events and community visits by members of the committee that put the effort together.

    The work culminates in December when the volunteers from a variety of groups come together to provide Christmas presents, a meal, and food baskets for some of Fannin County’s less fortunate.

    Between now and then, donations can be dropped off at the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office on West First Street in Blue Ridge or mailed to: Fannin County Shop With a Cop, P.O. Box 1706, Blue Ridge, Georgia, 30513.