More than 100 youngsters and between 30-40 officers participated in the annual Santa, Cops & Kids event in Martinsville and Henry County.
The event is a collaboration between the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, the Martinsville Police Department, and the Martinsville Sheriff’s Office.
“It was an absolutely great event,” Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis said.
Youngsters who participate in the event must be approved via an application process, Davis said. Applications are distributed to civic organizations and local schools, and parents may apply for their children to be part of the program.
“Those applications are also looked at against applications from other Christmas benefit organizations as well to be fair and make sure people aren’t going to all of them, and to spread the event throughout the community,” he said.
Davis said once the children are selected, they are notified, and their parent or guardian provides their transportation to Walmart.
There is an allotment of $100 per child, and participants have free reign over how that money is spent, Davis said. The only exceptions are no violent video games, nothing firearm-related, and no real knives.
“An officer will get with them and take a shopping buggy and we just shop the store,” he said. “We walk around with them, and we talk with them. We try to get to know them and give them a chance to get to know us as law enforcement officers and see that we’re really there to help them, we’re part of their community.”
Davis said the officers try to take the time spent shopping to build a good relationship with the youngsters and have a good time.
Officers who participate in the shopping event volunteer their time to do so, Davis said.
“We just notify our employees of the date and time and invite them all to come. So, everyone who comes really has a heart for the community and the children,” he said.
While the children benefit from the event, Davis said he believes the officers “benefit more than anyone from the time we get to spend with them.”
Davis said every officer spent a lot of time in the toy aisle this year. For example, the young girl he was helping spent time perusing the toy aisle, the plush stuffed animals, and the mini craft items.
That youngster, Davis said, was a special case. Her father worked for the Henry County Sheriff’s Office and died from cancer earlier this year.
“She requested that I shop with her personally, and I did so,” he said. “She was rather frugal with her money, so it took her well over an hour to get to her $100 limit.”
Many youngsters shop for others in their family as well, Davis said.
“I saw several kids purchasing shoes, and I saw some over in the toiletry areas buying some lotions for their parents and things like that,” he said.
Those wishing to donate to the Shop with a Cop program should make a check out to the Martinsville Police Department Benevolent Association.
