STARKE--The annual Shop-With-A-Cop event that was originally designed to bring smiles to the faces of dozens of deserving children each Christmas has turned out to do even more.
The shopping cops — deputies, correctional officers, state troopers and other officers — who showed up to help out Wednesday morning said they may enjoy the event even more than the children.
“I woke up with a big smile this morning because I knew I’d be here,” said Bradford County Deputy Michael McCrae, who was among the officials who volunteered to spend an hour one-on-one with a child as those youngsters selected up to $100 worth of gifts for themselves or others at the Walmart Supercenter in Starke.
This event got its start six years ago during a conversation between the store manager, Brian Jackson, and Starke police Capt. Barry Warren.
Jackson wanted to know what the community did to help deserving children during the holiday and offered up a $1,000 community grant from the retailer to help out.
“As a store, we like to give back to the community,” Jackson said.
Warren found 34 elementary school children who had good grades, good attendance and good attitudes and who came from families that might need some extra help over the holidays. Warren also arranged for some additional donations from the community with the goal of having $100 to spend on each child. Since the first year, Warren has raised funds year-round for the event, and this year 153 children were able to participate.
“I don’t think we could have imagined that this would have grown to this size,” Jackson said. “I love to see the expressions on the kids’ faces. This probably really is when Christmas begins for me.”
Source:http://www.gainesville.com/article/20101215/ARTICLES/101219724/1109/sports?Title=Christmas-smiles-for-kids-and-cops-at-shopping-event
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