LOVELAND, Colo.—A mysterious breed has moved into Loveland, stealthily and secretly. Brightly colored, whimsical garden gnomes are popping up in unexpected places with a unique mission—to bring smiles and to raise money for the Loveland Police Department Explorer program.
While the Urban Dictionary defines “gnoming” as kidnapping the charismatic creatures, police Explorers are delivering the delightful dwarves to your doorstep.
For a fee, the 16- to 20-year-old volunteers will deliver one papa and 10 small gnomes to a chosen yard, office or cubicle to raise money for the local Explorer post.
A few days later, the gnomes will disappear as mysteriously as they appeared.
This year the local post has 30 Explorers—the most ever—who train and learn about police work and serve the community at public events.
They donate their time to directing traffic, controlling crowds and other duties at parades, the Fourth of July celebration, the Loveland Fishing Derby and more.
Last year, local Explorers donated more than 4,000 hours to the community.
“This program does so much,” Explorer Hunter Redding said. “It gives us so much experience.”
Police Officer Jonae Coleman and Explorer mom Shana Cundall dreamed up “Operation Gnome” as a way to raise money for uniforms and training for the explorers and to cover the cost of the yearly state competition in Gunnison in July.
Together, officers, Explorers and family members painted the ceramic gnomes in late December, and the gnomes arrived at the Police Department, fully fired, earlier this week.
The creatures are as diverse as imaginable—some cute and almost cuddly, others spooky, some painted a single color and others sporting camouflage or polka dots.
When Coleman first floated the idea, Explorer Lt. Nicole Foote’s first reaction was: “Awesomeness.”
She believes the unique fundraiser will spread into a success for the program she joined six years ago.
“It’s something people will remember,” Foote said.
Explorers have been a part of the Loveland Police Department for more than two decades.
Garden gnomes have been around much, much longer.
The mythical munchkins transitioned from folklore to ceramic in Germany in the mid-1800s for good luck and decoration.
A man named Phillip Griebel is thought to have created the first garden gnomes, and four generations later, his family still is manufacturing them.
(These gnomes can be purchased online for a pretty penny and arrive with a certificate of authenticity.)
The klatch of 62 Loveland gnomes, hand-painted by local police Explorers, can be rented for much less.
