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HOUGHTON -- Dunkin' and local law enforcement agencies are teaming up for the second annual "Cop on a Rooftop" fundraiser from 6 a.m. to noon Friday, Aug. 14, at the Dunkin' located at 501 W. Memorial Drive in Houghton.
Cop on a Rooftop is a nation-wide fundraising event supporting the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. The funds raised support year-round programs and sports training for Special Olympics athletes.
"We'll have police officers there talking to everybody, trying to encourage them to help out Special Olympics," said event co-organizer and Houghton City Police Lt. Nick Roberts. "Our fire department will be there with one of its boom trucks. They're going to hoist us up on top of the roof, where we can wave at people and they can see us up there and stuff like that."
Roberts said the fire department was highly supportive last year, even allowing community members to join officers on the roof.
"They helped them into the boom bucket, and lifted them up on the roof," he said.
Putting on the event requires true teamwork, Roberts said. Dunkin' serves as the primary corporate sponsor and co-host, working alongside Michigan Special Olympics Area 39, which covers Houghton, Baraga, Keweenaw, Gogebic and Ontonagon counties. The Houghton Police Department organizes and co-hosts the drive alongside the Houghton City Fire Department.
Houghton's inaugural Cop on a Rooftop fundraiser took place in May 2025, Roberts said. Because Dunkin' opened its combined Houghton location in October 2024, last year's event was the first of its kind locally.
During the inaugural event, TMart Regional Supervisor Kevin Kane visited Houghton. He noted the company’s commitment to embedding its new franchise locations deeply into local charity networks.
“Dunkin’ coordinates with Special Olympics and all the local law enforcement agencies to raise money for the Torch Run and the Special Olympians,” Kane said.
TMart is the franchise group that operates Dunkin', Baskin-Robbins, Cousins Subs, A&W and Rocky Rococo locations across the region.
“In approximately five to six hours, our company, with its 70 locations, will raise more than $100,000. Not bad for five hours,” Kane said. “Cop on a Rooftop started out years and years ago as part of the fundraising. Cops would get up on the roof and lower buckets, things like Munchkin drops for someone to try to catch it in their mouth.”
During the event, anyone who donates to the fundraiser will receive a coupon for a free donut. The event is designed so that drive-thru and walk-in customers can hand cash, checks or digital donations via event-specific Venmo QR codes directly to the officers stationed on the ground to receive their voucher.
Roberts said that despite a few minor glitches, the first event went well.
"Last year was our first time with the event, and we put it together almost last-minute," he said. "We didn't get word out until four days before the event. This year, we expect it to go just as well if not better."