By Zac Chapman / Assistant News Director

The St. Cloud Police Department’s Community Engagement-Community Response Team is partnering with the Professional Somali Women’s Group again this year to provide candy bags for kids at the upcoming Islamic holiday, Eid al-Fitr. 

The Cop House, located at 600 13th Street South in St. Cloud near the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, is participating in the yearly project to provide a space for donations, candy packing and a place for the candy bags to be distributed to kids. Preferred donations include prepackaged candy, juice boxes and bottled water. 

Donations can be dropped off Tuesday’s and Thursday’s from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Cop House. They will be accepted until April 14 when the candy bag packing event takes place. The candy bags will be handed out at the Cop House and different event locations. 

Eid al-Fitr will be taking place the evening of Friday, April 21 through the evening of Saturday, April 22. Eid al-Fitr is the earlier of the two official holidays celebrated within Islam. The religious holiday is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. It is a time of official receptions and private visits, when friends greet one another, presents are given, new clothes are worn and the graves of relatives are visited.

If you have any questions, please contact Sergeant Ryan Sayre with the Police Department at 320-345-4382.