Shop with a Cop benefits local youth

Instead, these boys and girls went shopping with officers at the Walmart Supercenter at N.E. 23rd Street and Douglas Boulevard as part of the 16th annual Shop with a Cop program. Each child was given $100 to spend as they wanted, said Assistant Police Chief Sid Porter.

The program is funded, in large part, by a Walmart grant. The remaining funding comes from private donations, Porter said.

Police Chief Brandon Clabes and daughter Gabby with Santa Claus.

Children are selected from referrals from the Department of Human Services and the Mid-Del schools, and are only eligible once every three years.

“This is designed to help less fortunate kids whose families are struggling, or single parents who can’t make ends meet,” Porter said.

Shop with a Cop began in 1996 when Porter, then assigned to the community relations department, and Brandon Clabes, who was assistant police chief at the time, began looking for ways to help the community.

“We were trying to find grant money when I got a phone call from Walmart asking if we’d be interested in receiving a grant. The Lord really blessed us there,” Porter said.

Since then, an estimated 50 children each year benefit from the Shop with a Cop program. To date, more than 700 children have been served with donations of $65,000.

Giving back
Last Sunday, police officers and citizens donated their time to help the 45 children shop for toys and clothes. Before the shopping started, Walmart treated the youngsters to juice and donuts.

“It really turned into a family atmosphere,” Porter said. “I don’t who had more fun, the officers or the kids. It was really cool because most of these kids wouldn’t have anything for Christmas, so it’s a neat deal.”

The officers showed as much enthusiasm about the program as the children who were selected, Porter said.

“(The officers) deal with so much negativity, and an event like this allows them to do something fun and give back to the community. It gives officers the chance to feel good about being able to help others,” he said.

Porter said the program will continue as long as the financial contributions continue.

“The number of kids we help is determined by the funding, and we want to continue turning this without cutting back on it,” he said.