Police Pull Over Drivers in Michigan to Give Them Christmas Gifts as Part of UP TV's Uplift Someone Challenge
Drivers in Lowell, Michigan received a Christmas surprise when they were pulled over for "routine" police stops … they received exactly what they would have asked Santa Claus for, thanks to the work of police officers and UP TV.
The popular TV network, which promotes "uplifting" and "inspiring" programming, sought to do something a little different for people in the small town. They enlisted the help of the Lowell police force and officer Scot VanSolkema, who was responsible for pulling unsuspecting drivers over. When he asked the drivers what they wanted for Christmas, or for their children, many were hesitant to respond, but eventually they revealed their wishes. That's when VanSolkema, and the rest of the force, sprang into action to quickly retrieve the specified gift and get it to the driver.
Over the course of two days, the officers worked in conjunction with UP TV networks and creator Rob Bliss to make these things happen for an unknown number of people. However, what is known is that the network spent between $7,000 and $10,000 on the gifts, which included items such as an Xbox and Hi-Def TVs.
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"This Christmas, we wanted to reach out to a great viral video agency and said we wanted to do something fun and uplifting for people but in a fun way," Lori Hall of UP TV said to The Christian Post.
The two groups partnered together to do the traffic stop video, which has reached over 180,000 views on YouTube and 1 million since it was posted on Tuesday.
"It wasn't on purpose," Lori said of the publicity surrounding the police across the country. "We actually came up with this idea before all of that happened. And we definitely considered it when everything popped up, but we wanted to show good police stories, and anytime we can surprise and delight people with what our men and women in uniform are doing, we will do it. There are still great things being done by our men and women in blue."
"The unplanned variable was that this took place in the middle of a blizzard," David Gardner, also of UP TV, said.
To learn more about the uplift someone challenge, click here.
Watch the official video here:
