More Than 46 Children Shop With Heroes in Holly Springs

HOLLY SPRINGS, GA -- Dozens of children will have a brighter holiday season thanks to the Holly Springs Police Department.

The agency and the Friends of Holly Springs Police Foundation hosted the third annual Shop With A Hero event over the weekend.

Held Dec. 10 at Walmart in Holly Springs, the event reached more than 46 children this year. Volunteers from the community joined the foundation to assist police officers as they accompanied select children and families on Christmas shopping sprees made possible by the donations of local businesses, families, Holly Springs police officers and employees and the Foundation.

Walmart employees, Foundation members and community volunteers assigned each child to an officer who accompanied them for a private chat with Santa and shopping.

"As the event unfolded, everyone involved noticed that this was much more than a typical attempt to help others during the holidays," Holly Springs police said.

Shoppers at the big box retailer approached Holly Springs employees to ask how they can make donations to the cause. Other also reached into their own pockets to make up the difference when a child's purchase exceeded the $100 limit.

Other residents also "stuffed the truck" by placing toys inside the Holly Springs Police Department Humvee parked outside the store.

Walmart employees opened a special lane for children and once their items were purchased, volunteers made sure each gift was wrapped. Children also received a gift box of food items prepared by Boy Scout Troop 8880.

“The excitement in the children’s eyes was the best gift for me,” said Police Chief Mike Carswell. "When their shopping spree was complete, checkout was a breeze. When the event was over, one thing was sure to the members of our agency: no matter what happened in the rest of the world on Saturday, Dec. 10, Christmas in Holly Springs came early this year."

Images via Holly Springs Police Department