Just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, the ITA shipped boxes of food to deserving families statewide. Once again, the ITA was blessed with the food drive offerings from the Timothy Ball Elementary School in Crown Point,Indiana.

Family names were submitted from Indiana State Police representatives, including the Commanders at each of the state police districts, Public Information officers and Chaplains.  Also, included in those who submitted family names were the schools that participated in our 2006 David Deuter Memorial “Good Citizenship” Essay Contests. We sought to assist those who were in need of a helping hand especially during the holidays.

Most of the family names were also submitted for recipients in our Trooper Pat Bartram Memorial "Christmas for Kids" – our version of "Shop With A Cop" – which provided new clothing and new toys to the children in the family.

ITA Executive Director, Ernie Alder and daughter, Barb, drove to the school just prior to the holiday to return to the ITA Corporate Office with a bountiful truck loaded with all sorts of food supplies.

The bags and boxes of food were sorted and repackaged at the ITA office with miscellaneous items added to provide a well-balanced array of meat, vegetables, beverages and desserts for a family meal.

The boxes were shipped via UPS to arrive just prior to Thanksgiving Day.  We deeply appreciate the generosity of the students at Timothy Ball Elementary School, as well as those who continue to support us with their monetary donations.

In early November 2005, the ITA received a call from the Timothy Ball Elementary in Crown Point, Indiana asking if we would like to be the recipient of their 2005 Thanksgiving Food Drive again this year. We gladly accepted their offer and on the Monday prior to the holiday, ITA Executive Director Ernie Alder rented a U-Haul truck in Angola and drove to Crown Point to pick up the food donation. This year’s donation was even larger than the 2004 offerings and Ernie returned to the ITA office in Angola with a truck load of non-perishable food items and other items such as paper goods and baby products.

Thanks to the generosity of a local business owner who had an empty building in the downtown Angola area, we were able to unload the supplies and sort them for the boxes that were filled for distribution during the holiday season. Thanks to monetary donations from our supporters across the state, we were also able to purchase meats and additional products to compliment the canned goods that we received from the school. The ITA staff was joined by community volunteers who assisted in the sorting and packing of the boxes.
Several weeks prior, the ITA had sent letters to their Board of Directors, Indiana State Police District Commanders, Chaplains, Public Information Officers and Dispatchers at each post, asking them to provide us with the names of families who were having a difficult time making ends meet during the holiday season. We also asked those who submitted names to provide us a short statement as to the specific needs of the family, as well as the number of people in the home. We were grateful for the responses we received and are pleased to report that boxes of food were distributed to these families all over Indiana.

We are especially thankful for the children and faculty of Timothy Ball Elementary in Crown Point for the kind donation and for helping us lend a helping hand to those in need.

2005 Food Basket Program

2004 Food Basket Program
2003 Food Basket Program
2002 Food Basket Program
2000 Food Basket Program
1999 Food Basket Program

1998 Food Basket Program