For the third year in row, law enforcement officers from across Missouri "Staked out at Dunkin'" on Friday to raise awareness and donations for the Missouri Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit Special Olympics Missouri.
Officers hoped to raise $20,000 among 24 stores across the state, including the store on Missouri Boulevard in Jefferson City. They were on the store's roof from 5 a.m.-noon.
Adam Koestner, a Missouri Department of Corrections case manager working at Algoa Correctional Center, was among those collecting donations. Koestner has been involved with SOMO activities for 17 years and has a reason close to his heart for continuing to be involved.
"My now 8-year-old niece from Jefferson City was born with Down syndrome," Koestner said. "So it really hit close to home, and ever since then, I've been trying to become even more involved."
The Torch Run was founded by the Missouri Police Chiefs Association 32 years ago. It will begin today and continue through May 31.
The SOMO State Summer Games will be May 31-June 2 in Springfield.
More than 2,300 runners from 119 law enforcement agencies from across the state will participate in the 2019 Torch Run. These runners will complete 37 different routes and cover more than 1,000 miles across Missouri.
Missouri Law Enforcement Agencies are attempting to raise more than $2 million this year through various fundraising initiatives including the Polar Plunge, selling Torch Run T-shirts and organizing other special events.
Officers in Jefferson City will do the "Gordon Barnes Memorial Route" of the Torch Run starting at 10 a.m. May 29 at Daisy Delight on East McCarty Street and ending at 11:30 a.m. at the Jefferson City Police Department on Monroe Street.
For more information about the Torch Run, visit somo.org/torchrun.