RALEIGH — In a season where giving is the norm, please be wary of those make such solicitations. According to Captain Everett Clendenin, Public Information Officer for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP), the NCSHP office in Raleigh are receiving an unusual amount of calls from citizens across the state complaining that the Highway Patrol is soliciting contributions for various reasons. “The North Carolina State Highway Patrol does not solicit financial contributions from private citizens. NCSHP is funded from tax dollars,” Capt. Clendenin said. He continued, “If you have been contacted by a telemarketing organization representing itself to be the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, you should know that the NCSHP receives no financial support from these organizations.” Clendenin added that some groups include in their names the terms “Highway Patrol,” “State Troopers,” or “North Carolina Highway Patrol.” “While some officers may be members of these associations on their own time, these organizations are not affiliated with the NCSHP. They are private associations raising money to fund their own programs,” he noted. Clendenin said if you have been contacted by an organization that you believe is misrepresenting itself, you can contact the North Carolina Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 919-716-6000.