Officers at Marion Police Department will sport facial hair or ponytails with tinsel hair over the next few months for a good cause.
Back in December of 2021, Sgt. Jerry Lewis’ wife, Bridget, was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Surgery was scheduled within a few days and doctors planned on removing the kidney affected by cancer.
When surgery began, surgeons noticed additional cancer spots throughout Bridget’s abdomen leading to her heart.
“They had to put Bridget on heart bypass and open her chest up to get all the cancer out,” said Lewis. “They took some lymph nodes out as well. Following surgery, she had a few scans and they were all negative. Everything looked good. Then 10 weeks ago, she had a checkup scan and more places showed up.”
When Lewis’ fellow officers heard of the diagnosis, they decided to try to help the family using a fundraising method that had been popular before.
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“Sgt. Matt Huggins and a few other police officers came up with the idea to do this Facial and Tinsel Hair Fundraiser for the Lewis family,” said Police Chief Allen Lawrence. “We did No Shave November last year to raise funds for Shop with a Hero to help sponsor less-fortunate kids, so they would have a Christmas. We thought this fundraiser was fitting for the Lewis family, since it was Jerry’s idea last year to raise funds for Shop with a Hero. We added the tinsel hair and ponytail option for female officers that didn’t have a chance to participate last year, but wanted to.”
An alternative funding source will be used by Marion Police Department to support Shop with a Hero this year, so that 100% of the proceeds from the Facial and Tinsel Hair Fundraiser can go to the Lewis family for medical expenses.
“Traveling to Winston-Salem with two kids can get expensive,” said Lawrence. “This fundraiser is a way for us to do something for them to help pay for the costs of travel, hotel rooms, food or anything else they may need. Per policy, officers have never been allowed to have facial hair and female officers have always had to keep their hair off their shoulders and not have a crazy hair color. This fundraiser allows us to have a little bit of fun, do something outside the norm and support someone who is very close to us.”
Lewis is grateful for the support of his fellow officers during this hard time.
“I’m not the type to ask for help,” said Lewis. “It’s very comforting knowing that everyone here, not just on the streets, but personally, has my back too.”
Officers participating in this fundraiser have pledged to make a donation to the Lewis family every paycheck. In return, male officers will be able to grow neat facial hair and female officers will be able to wear ponytails with tinsel hair in Bridget’s favorite colors of purple, blue, red and teal.
Members of the public interested in helping the Lewis family can visit nebocrossing.com. On the website they’ll need to click give, enter the amount they would like to give and the frequency they would like to give, and then click next. From there, they’ll want to enter their information and select Police Department Fundraiser (Lewis family).
Donations can also be dropped off at the Marion Police Department at 270 S. Main St. in Marion.
Fundraising efforts will continue through the end of December.
Want to give?
1. Visit nebocrossing.com.
2. Click on give, enter the amount you want to give and frequency of giving, and then click next.
3. Enter your information, select Police Department Fundraiser (Lewis family). Click continue.
Donations can also be dropped off at the Marion Police Department at 270 S. Main St. in Marion.
What is tinsel hair?
Tinsel hair is tinsel-like material that’s weaved or clipped into hair to give it a mystical, shiny appearance.
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