DETROIT – Metro Detroit police officer Samantha Vargas lost her partner in the line of duty.
Since that day, Vargas, who is also veteran, has been working to come up with a way to give back to her partner’s daughter and other children who have found themselves in a similar situation.
Vargas knows her children know what a police officer looks like but she’s afraid other children are getting the wrong picture.
“When you do see one of the dolls representing a soldier or a police officer, they are in a skirt or they have a pink tie on and that it doesn’t it represent what I wear to work daily,” she said.
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Vargas wanted to create a toy for her kids to have while she and her husband were out on patrol.
“We also wanted to keep them soft. The majority of police officers don’t pull out their gun on a daily basis or even in their career. So, I want these to be more of a comfort piece,” she said.
Vargas’ cause is much more than appearance.
“I lost a partner back in 2018, and it kind of really hit home because he had a young daughter,” she said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about his daughter.”
Now, Vargas is reaching out to families who have sadly experienced that same pain.
“When you purchase a doll, some of that money goes towards our fund, which we in turn give a doll to a child who lost a loved one in the line of duty,” Vargas said.
The dolls are called Hearts + Heroes. They’re police officers, members of the military, nurses and doctors, inspired by a tragedy, but Vargas hopeful they’ll bring comfort to any child who holds one.
“I don’t think any of us can imagine being a young child and your parent never walking back through that door. So, I want to do my part to give back to those kids,” she said.