A Whitby mom is heaping praise on a Durham police officer who brightened her daughter’s day by taking time to recognize the little girl’s fundraising effort.

“I was touched by what happened,” Melanie Iordanoglou said of the actions of Const. Jason Cockburn. “It made me so emotional that this man would take time out of his day to do this.”

The story begins in early July when Iordanoglou’s daughter Melayna, then 5, set up a stand and sold lemonade in an effort to raise money for a local dog rescue operation.

Iordanoglou promoted the event in advance on social media, and got a note of support from police in Cobourg; she then extended an invitation to Durham police to drop by the day of the sale.

Throughout the day of the sale Melayna kept an eye out for officers, even though she’d been told they’d only make it if they had time. As the day wound down the little girl was disappointed, but speculated the cops had been distracted by their pursuit of “villains,” Iordanoglou said.

“You could see she was disappointed, even though she understood,” she said.

Days after the sale, however, Melayna got a surprise: The doorbell rang and there was Cockburn, apologizing that he and his colleagues had missed the lemonade sale. The officer presented Melayna with a knapsack packed with gifts.

“She was shaking with excitement,” Iordanoglou said. “She couldn’t believe that there he was, at the door. It was like a superhero showed up.”

On a recent Monday morning, Melayna and her mom returned the favour, visiting the police station in Whitby with some treats for the officers there.

“This is something I don’t think she’ll ever forget,” Iordanoglou said. “It warms my heart to no end.”