SPRUCE PINE — Mitchell County law enforcement officers were busy shopping on Monday, Dec. 14 at the Spruce Pine Walmart.
They weren’t doing their own holiday shopping. Instead, they were shopping for the 12th annual Shop With a Cop event that helps provide a Christmas morning full of presents to area children who otherwise wouldn’t have one.
Officers from the Spruce Pine Police Department, Bakersville Police Department, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations and the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office donned their face coverings and filled up their carts for the cause.
Usually, the children on the Shop With a Cop program shop side-by-side with the officers and a slew of other volunteers help with the shopping.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, there were no children or volunteers, just the officers shopping using wish lists submitted directly from the children on the program.
The officers shopped for 67 kids on Monday, Dec. 14 and since then, have contacted an additional 15 kids to potentially be served by the program.
The officers also plan to fill up the food pantry at the Mitchell County Senior Center. Any unspent money will roll over to next year’s event.
Shop With a Cop is made possible by community support, which this year came in the form of $33,972 in donations.
“This event could not be held without the help of the community,” said Mitchell County Sheriff Donald Street.