The annual "Shop With a Cop" Christmas event happened this week and will continue over the next two weeks, in cities and counties across America. In most instances, police departments and retailers have been collaborating for decades, and work to make each year better than the last. This partnership with local law enforcement and local business helps the needy and at-risk children in their community and is the subject of this week's Feel-Good Friday. 

Big thanks to our own "Salieri" who discovered this was a thing in his neck of the woods, and thought it should be replicated. Little did we know it was already!

Shop With a Cop is a 501(c)3 organization that gives law enforcement an opportunity to be the face of charity and goodwill to children who otherwise would not have a very Merry Christmas.  

While the Shriners and Toys for Tots are also wonderful endeavors, Shop With a Cop is about direct connection--police officers reaching out to the communities they serve to transform the lives of young people and their families. As a country, we are thankfully turning the page from "defund the police" and the targeting of law enforcement, back to appreciation for law and order, as well as support and encouragement for those who serve. This post from a Shop With a Cop event in North Las Vegas is as adorable as it is a bridge. 

Strike a pose! Officer Warner and his new partner in style bring the holiday spirit to #NLVPD’s Shop with a Cop event.

Cuteness overload 🥰#ShopWithACop #CommunityFirst #HolidayJoy #MakingMemories #BuildingBridges #ServingOurCommunity pic.twitter.com/C2Z01U76Jz

— NLVPD (@NLVPD) December 13, 2024

The events always start with the breaking of bread. In Cache Valley, Utah, the North Park Sheriff's Office Explorers Post served breakfast to the cops and kids who were participating.

There was a season full of smiles Saturday morning, as law enforcement agencies from throughout Cache Valley joined forces for their annual Shop with a Cop event. The yearly tradition gave 50 children the chance to choose Christmas gifts for themselves and their families, with the help of officers, deputies, and volunteers.

North Park Police Chief Kent Goodrich was again the lead organizer of this year’s event and worked with the Family Place to select the children. He said the program not only helps families in need, but also builds friendships between the kids and law enforcement.

“Some of these kid’s futures are bleak at times,” explained Goodrich, “with what they are going through, like medical problems or financial problems. It is so beyond what our normal day to day worries and struggles are, it just pales in comparison.”

The kids who were chosen this year were invited to the Cache County Sheriff’s Office, where they were first partnered with a law enforcement member. They then had a chance to eat breakfast together, complete with scrambled eggs, waffles, bacon and hash browns, served by the Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post.

Kitsap County, Washington, has been doing Shop With a Cop for 20 years, and created this congratulatory video featuring the chief of police and the local LEOs, as well as the children (now adults) who were blessed to be a part of the program in the past, sharing their experiences.

WATCH: 

It's a worthy program which relies solely on donations from the community. In some cases, the abundance is so huge that police departments can increase the number of children who can take part-- and even supply extras for the children's families, as happened in Cache Valley, UT.

With the extra donations the police department received this year, officers were able to put together a Christmas stocking for each child’s family. It contained gift cards to local grocery stores and restaurants.

In other counties, the kids get to ride with their officer in a motorcade with full display of lights and sirens, like what happened in Prince George's County, Maryland.

WATCH:

Shop with a cop was amazing. @RiverdaleParkPD @pgcps pic.twitter.com/A2jTK2havo

— Riverdale Elementary RES (@PGCPS_RES) December 12, 2024

The sponsors and formats may change a bit, but what remains the same is law enforcement relating to these children and their family. 

From Bullhead City (Mohave County), Arizona...

To the City of Brotherly Love... 

Shop with a Cop provides a fun day for a number of children while creating positive relationships with law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/flLAHV9eeS

— PPD 18th District (@PPD18Dist) December 13, 2024

To the Portland, Oregon, area...

And even Central Oregon.

In various ways, from Casper, Wyoming, to Quakertown, Pennsylvania, to Benton, Arkansas, cops give back and children discover in a fresh way that law enforcement is not the enemy. Even the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is in on it. This year, they partnered with the Los Angeles County Fire Department to spread Christmas cheer and support to the community of Compton.

Compton Sheriff's Station🚔 and Compton Fire Department🚒 recently held their annual "Shop with a Cop/Firefighter" event at Walmart🛒 in the city of Compton. Over 65 community children had the opportunity to shop with deputies and firefighters.

Thank you to all who participated… pic.twitter.com/w5NlAoDuSB

— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) December 13, 2024

This is not a paid police event. It is something the cops volunteer for--and do it on their own time. But as Lt. Chad of the Tulsa Police Department said, they are the ones who truly receive.

SHOP WITH A COP
It's a tradition that some of our Officers have taken part in for nearly 20 years! Shop with a Cop is a great opportunity for Officers to interact with the community and help families in need for the holiday season.
Here's an overview of our 2024 Shop with a Cop… pic.twitter.com/VafIFOznDM

— Tulsa Police (@TulsaPolice) December 12, 2024

SHOP WITH A COP 

It's a tradition that some of our Officers have taken part in for nearly 20 years! Shop with a Cop is a great opportunity for Officers to interact with the community and help families in need for the holiday season. 

Here's an overview of our 2024 Shop with a Cop event -- made possible by the @tulsarotary and the Tulsa Police Fraternal Order of Police!

In order to fund their Shop With a Cop event every year, the county employees of Flagler County, Florida, make their donations through payroll deductions throughout the year.

Flagler County Sheriff’s Office employees and several community organizations and individuals have generously donated over $35,000 to the Flagler Sheriff’s Childrens Charities in support of the Agency’s annual Shop with a Cop event!

FCSO employees donate to the charity each pay… pic.twitter.com/KF4PPq7MhW

— Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (@FlaglerSheriff) December 12, 2024

Flagler County Sheriff’s Office employees and several community organizations and individuals have generously donated over $35,000 to the Flagler Sheriff’s Childrens Charities in support of the Agency’s annual Shop with a Cop event! FCSO employees donate to the charity each pay period through voluntary payroll deductions. 

In 2024, employees donated $24,200.

The difference made not just at Christmas, but in each city, town, family throughout the year cannot be quantified. It is law enforcement's invest and attachment to the members of their community.  

The Shop with a Cop program reaches out to members of the community who may otherwise hesitate to engage with police officers on a regular basis. It also allows children to become familiar with police and feel comfortable in their presence. It teaches the children that police officers are individuals who have unique interests, goals, and families of their own and that they are here to help.

By participating in the program, children gain a positive experience with police officers, officers get to bond with the children and give them a different perspective on the role of police in a local community. Since the children involved in the Shop with a Cop program do not always have positive impressions or experiences with police, it also allows them to develop fond memories of the officers and helps them develop trust with law enforcement officials. 

This is the face of community policing that the public rarely sees or hears about. Perhaps if the legacy media were as quick to promote this program as they are to promote police brutality and excessive force, the perspective and viewpoint on the public servants who do their utmost to protect and serve might change.