CENTRALIA — Land of Lincoln Credit Union (LLCU) donated $1,000 in LLCU Visa Gift Cards to the Centralia Police Department during a ceremony Tuesday morning at the new Land of Lincoln Credit Union branch on North Poplar Street in Centralia.

Robert Ares, Land of Lincoln CEO says the main purpose of the program is for Land of Lincoln to show their appreciation and support of local law enforcement while giving them the monetary resource to help citizens when they witness a community member in need while patrolling.

The hope, says Ares, is that it helps officers forge strong relationships with the community and that how they use the gift cards for is completely at police discretion, but the credit union envisions them being used in situations where a citizen needs a meal, a child needing a coat, even perhaps when someone is pulled over for a broken tail light, to help them get it repaired.