Houston County Sheriff’s Corporal Kevin Taylor – Doing a little more

Corporal Kevin Taylor wears many hats at the Houston County Sheriff’s Office. He is a member of the warrants division, gang force task, and SRT team. When he first started with the Sheriff’s Office, he worked at the Houston County Detention Center, and then was a patrol deputy for several years.

In 2011, after being with the Sheriff’s Office for couple of years, Taylor wanted to do a little more. He came up with the idea of hosting a car wash to raise funds to help provide Thanksgiving meals to families in need within the county.

“My mom and other members of my family were a big component in helping others when I was growing up,” Taylor said. “So I’ve always had a desire to do a little more and help others. But being in this profession you meet all different walks of life. So I came up with an idea, along with my fellow deputies, just to do a little something for the community and now it’s turned into something that has a great impact.”

The program is called, “Operation Arresting Hunger.” Deputies raise money through several fundraisers throughout the year, while local businesses and people donate to the program as well, to provide Thanksgiving meals to families in need. In 2011, the Houston County Sheriff’s Office provided meals to 12 families. It has since grown substantially, this year providing meals to over 100 families, impacting about 280 people.

“I never imagined the program becoming this big, but I’m very happy that it has,” Taylor said. “Again, we just wanted to do a little something, never really set any goals, and it has just grown. We have an awesome community, that each year always supports us with their donations.”

In 2015, through Operation Arresting Hunger, deputies started, “Shop with a Deputy.” Taylor said they would take the children from the families they provided Thanksgiving meals for, to a local store with a $150 gift card on Christmas Eve morning, and let them pick out whatever toys they wanted.

“‘Shop with a Deputy’ really warms my heart and puts a smile on my face,” Taylor said. “You know a lot of parents use us, police officers, as a scare tactic, telling their children if they don’t behave, the police will lock them up. But we try to change that by letting them know we can be role models and mentors for them. And over the years, the kids have really warmed up to us.”

“And what I enjoy most about when we deliver the meals is meeting all the people and getting to know them,” Taylor went on to say. “You never know who your neighbors are and what they’re going through until you get to know them. A lot of who we meet are the elderly who have no family members around, families struggling because of the job market and having more than one job just to make ends meet, and families who are impacted by illnesses. So to be able to help them is a blessing. What’s even more of a blessing is seeing those families give back the next year in supporting one of our fundraisers or buying an Operation Arresting Hunger t-shirt.”

Taylor said now they are looking into turning Operation Arresting Hunger into a nonprofit organization. He said it would open the doors for larger donations, being able to apply for grants, and also help businesses and companies to write off their donations and receive tax credits.

“But this isn’t about me,” Taylor said. “We’re like a family at the Sheriff’s Office and everyone is there for each other. If it weren’t for them, this program wouldn’t be what it is today. Just to name a few, like Sarah Crook who works in the records division, Lisa Cline at the detention center, and Veronica Jones, warrants division; they all help with the ground work and networking with the local churches, schools, and organizations like Family Promise. Many more, but I am so grateful to all of them, and look forward to impacting more families in the future.”