Shop-With-A-Cop event brings Christmas to 21 families
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (PRESS RELEASE) - On Saturday morning, law enforcement officers from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, and Idaho State Probation and Parole teamed up to make special Christmas deliveries to 21 Shop-With-A-Cop kids in Bonneville County.
For the past 25 years, local law enforcement have teamed up with kids who have been exposed to abusive situations to help them shop for their families for Christmas. Typically the event starts with breakfast and a parade of police cars across town with the kids in charge of the radio, lights and sirens, followed by the shopping and a visit from Santa.
This year, however, due to current COVID-19 restrictions, adjustments had to be made for the safety and health of participants in order to continue with this important tradition.
Taking on the bulk of that adjustment were volunteers from the Ammon Target Store, Idaho Falls Civitans and the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center. These volunteers gathered shopping lists and information about the 21 child participants and their families. They spent the past week doing the shopping in advance, wrapping presents, and assembling stocking and gift bags for the kids and their families so the entire family could have Christmas presents under the tree.
Following more than a month of preparation, individual teams of officers, Target employees, and Civitans set out this morning with gifts in hand making deliveries to individual kids and their families all across Bonneville County, Idaho Falls, Ammon and Iona.
Some of these excited kids got to explore the inside of cop cars, work the lights and sirens and have a photo opportunity at their homes with the officers, despite the cold morning temperatures.
Even though this year's event was more streamlined than others, the Christmas cheer and opportunity to build a positive bond with some great kids in our community still took place and made lasting memories.
