Long Lake True Value giving away blue light bulbs, raising money for Officer Mathews' family

LONG LAKE, Minn. (KMSP) - In the wake of the loss of a Wayzata police officer, a Long Lake hardware store is helping local residents show their support.

Long Lake True Value spent their business hours on Saturday giving away blue light bulbs, one per household, and accepting donations for Officer William Mathews’ family.

According to a Facebook post, the hardware store was out of light bulbs early in the day, giving away 500 bulbs by 11 a.m. They posted an update on their page, saying they bought out Menards and had to get more from a warehouse distribution center.

By 12:30 p.m. an additional 480 bulbs were back at True Value to continue the giveaway.

In a Facebook post, the store wrote, “Officer Mathew [shined] light both on and off duty on a regular basis…Now it’s our duty to shine light upon him for his service, and support our Officers who sacrifice their lives to [keep] us safe.”

Mathews was fatally struck by a car on Friday while cleaning up debris on the side of Highway 12. Since then, support for his family, a wife and son, has been pouring in from all over the state.

The light bulbs will show support for Mathew’s work family as well, the department he worked with for 9 years before his death.

Long Lake True Value is open until 6 p.m. on Saturday, and will continue to give away bulbs until they run out.

You can visit them at 1865 W. Wayzata Blvd. in Long Lake.