Kids Get to Shop with a Cop Saturday

Law enforcement officers in St. Mary’s County will be hanging out with kids on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, as the 12th annual Shop with a Cop program gets underway.

Children who have been nominated by police officers and staff at St. Mary’s County Public Schools will be picked up at their homes by law enforcement officers from county, state, and federal agencies, as well as members of the United States Coast Guard. The law enforcement officers will take the kids to breakfast, made by members of the Optimist Clubs of St. Mary’s County, and then take them shopping for Christmas gifts.

The Shop with a Cop program is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization consisting of members of the St. Mary’s County Optimist Clubs and the St. Mary’s County Fraternal Order of Police.

The all-volunteer program does not have paid employees and donations are always needed. Donated funds are used to help kids buy gifts for their loved ones, whether it’s parents or siblings or other family members. The event might be the only chance the children get to buy gifts, plus it has the added bonus of creating a bond between the kids and law enforcement officers, giving both sides a chance to get to know each other on a personal level.

The children get a specific amount of money and are escorted around the store, usually Walmart, to choose items to give for Christmas, or, if they choose, they can buy household items or even something for themselves.

Anyone who wants to make a tax-deductible donation to this worthy program can send it to St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, 23150 Leonard Hall Drive, Leonardtown, MD 20650, Attention: Bill Raddatz.

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