DE PERE (NBC 26) — Fostering a positive relationship between law enforcement and the local children.
On Saturday law enforcement agencies throughout Brown County, along with Wal-Mart, Lamers Bus Lines, McDonalds, Promotional Designs and the Boys and Girls Club partnered together to participate in Shop With A Cop.
Shop With A Cop is an annual event. Elementary school students are nominated by their school counselors and social workers.
This year, as part of Shop with a Cop, children who will be participating will get to join an officer or a police department staff member to shop together for holiday gifts.
On Saturday they began their morning by enjoying breakfast together, courtesy of McDonalds.
They then headed to Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart is providing the participating children with about $150.00 to shop. More or less depending on household.
Kids shopped for themselves, friends, family members and for some, possibly even for strangers.
“It was super fun. We got a shark boat thing for my brother Miles. And I got two Yu-Gi-Oh! cards packs for me,” said Corbin B.
Gifts were also wrapped with the help of volunteers.
This unique event gave kids the opportunity to shop for gifts for their families, something they might not otherwise be able to do while building a relationship with a police officer.
“Always a great opportunity to take that time to build those relationships because we are just real people and we want to have real relationships with young children and see that they can trust us to come up to us to just talk, talk about problems or just talk in general like normal people. I think those relationships start at a young age and when we do that those relationships foster into the future,”said Chief Isaac Schultz, Seymour Police Department.
“We get everything from the high school kids to come and help wrap us gifts. Families. The officers do this with their families, such as myself as well and it kind of just brings in the holiday spirit,” said Officer Jedd Bradley, De Pere Police Department.
Below are more pictures from the event:
