Lieutenant Jesse English checks out the toys with his Shop With a Cop partner. (Cory Spiers/Staff)
The Spruce Pine Walmart was much busier the morning of Monday, Dec. 13 than it usually is at such a time.
Law enforcement officials, volunteers and area kids packed the entrance lobby, waiting for the annual Shop With a Cop event to begin. Several people held cameras, capturing every smile and laugh shared between the volunteers and the kids.
Shop With a Cop is an annual event that makes sure all kids get a memorable Christmas. Kids are paired with volunteers or law enforcement officials and take a trip around Walmart, gathering things they need and want.
The first stop is always clothing. Kids get winter jackets, hats, socks, shirts and anything else they might need.
Then comes the fun.
Kids get to spend the remainder of their allowance on toys and games. All they have to do is point to what they want, and into the cart it goes.
Officers from the Spruce Pine Police Department, Bakersville Police Department, Mitchell County Sheriff’s Department, North Carolina Highway Patrol and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation gathered at Walmart to make Christmas 2021 unforgettable for area kids.
“The money we are able to spend provides them with nice items,” said Mitchell County Sheriff Donald Street.
Some shoppers were efficient in selecting their clothing, getting to the toys quickly.
“Now we’re talking,” Lieutenant Jesse English said as his shopper grabbed a large Halo toy from the shelf and placed it in the cart. “Getting to the big stuff.”
Shop With a Cop 2021 served 54 kids and Street said more than a dozen additional kids will get gift cards. The program was made possible by more than $12,000 in donations.
“It is a blessing to see the smiling faces of these kids when we meet them,” Street said. “I want to thank the community for entrusting us with this money to spend. This may be all some of these kids get.”