Magazine brings back annual gala with casino night in Hempfield to benefit Shop with a Cop

The Goal Magazine Gala returns this month and will benefit the Shop with a Cop charity.

After a three-year hiatus, organizers at the nonprofit are asking guests to join them at the Greensburg Country Club in Hempfield on April 21 at 6 p.m.

“We haven’t had the gala since 2019,” said Tawnya Rockwell, chief production manager at Goal Magazine. “We’re really excited to be bringing it back this year. We just want people to have fun.”

All proceeds from the event will be donated to Shop with a Cop Westmoreland. The two nonprofits have maintained a long-standing relationship, with Go2Goal raising money for Shop with a Cop in the form of monetary and prize donations. The magazine is a twice-a-year publication for business and community leaders in Westmoreland and surrounding counties, according to its website.

“We started wanting to raise funds for Shop with a Cop,” Rockwell said. “We love that cause. You see the cause and you see the kids. How could you not want to raise money for them? We’ve always supported it in other ways, and we thought it would be fun to team up with them and support them through the gala.”

Public relations officer and founder of Shop with a Cop Westmoreland, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Stephen Limani was honored when he found out that the organization would be receiving the proceeds from the event.

“When they told me that the program was going to be the recipient of the proceeds, I couldn’t have been any more excited,” Limani said. “It’s kind of like a validation that you’re doing something right in the community when somebody wants to help you. It feels great.”

Limani said that the donation will be put towards the organization’s annual Christmas shopping event. Each year, select children are given $150 and assigned a police officer shopping buddy to go on a spending spree at Walmart. Donations make it possible for Limani and other organizers to include more children.

The news of the donation came just in time. Shop with a Cop organizers had to cancel the annual gun bash, one of their more successful fundraisers. Shortly after the news, Rockwell reached out to Limani about the gala.

“It’s bizarre how my life works,” Limani said. “I just have great human beings surrounding me. I’m a lucky guy.”

Rockwell said that the goal of the gala is for attendees to have fun. Table players will have a chance to win a prize basket valued at $500. There will also be live music, an open bar and food and dessert stations. Tickets are $150 per person. For more information, visit go2goalus.com.