It was hard to tell who was having a better time navigating shopping carts through Walmart’s aisles Saturday mornings — the kids or the Hinesville Police Department officers helping them pick their Christmas gifts.
The HPD held its annual Shop with a Cop program, and it’s one of the largest of its kind in the state, said founder and organizer Sgt. Bryan Wolfe.
“It’s so exciting,” said HPD Chief Tracey Howard. “It makes Christmas not only for our family, but for the citizens of Hinesville and the officers who are involved. I can’t think of a greater way to kick off the holiday season, aside from the festivities, other than Shop with a Cop. You see the responses from children who have never experienced what the Christmas miracle is about.”
With Shop with a Cop, 142 kids from approximately 50 families made their way through Walmart’s aisles, picking out Christmas gifts for themselves and their families.
There were 41 HPD officers on hand — many more who would have been there, Sgt. Wolfe said, were either on shift or had just ended a shift.
“It’s not hard to get them. It’s hard to get them to stop,” Chief Howard said.
Aside from Shop with a Cop, HPD officers also do things in the community to help those in need well outside the public’s view, the chief pointed out.
“Officers put people up in hotels. They buy people food,” he said. “And they are doing that an officer’s salary. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
The interaction with kids and families could have another positive impact in years to come, Chief Howard and Assistant Chief Terranova Smith acknowledged. As the kids leading the officers around Walmart become adults, they can reflect on interactions such as Shop with a Cop and cast law enforcement in a more positive light.
“What we hope for is they take this experience with them as they grow up,” Smith said. “They will remember this and influence others to do the same.”
Howard and Smith praised the efforts of Sgt. Wolfe and community outreach coordinator Keisha Stubbs in putting the annual event together.
“They put their whole heart into it,” Smith said. “It’s really just wonderful.”
The HPD also is grateful for the support the endeavor gets not just in the days and weeks leading up to the holidays but throughout the year.
“It keeps coming in, all year long,” Chief Howard said of the donations to make the event possible. “It just shows you what Hinesville is all about and what Hinesville for the holidays really means.”
