'Amigos En Azul' To Go Holiday Shopping With East Austin Kids

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Amigos en Azul — that's Spanish for "friends in blue" — will participate in "Shop with a Cop" on Friday, with officers accompanying disadvantaged youth on shopping excursions and picking up the tab.

Each year ahead of Christmas, Amigos en Azul schedules a day of shopping with elementary school students, this year with kids from Jaime Padron and Allison elementary schools. Economically disadvantaged children will pair up with an officer, who will not only help them with their shopping but pay for the selected items.

This year's event will take place at the Target store at the Capital Plaza shopping center, 5621 N. Interstate 35 starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 15.

"The Shop with a Cop program is an opportunity for elementary school students to socialize with officers in a positive atmosphere and reinforce the fact that police officers are friends in the community," organizers explain in a press advisory.

Before the shopping begins, Santa Claus will make an appearance in greeting participating students. After shopping, participants will join officers for lunch at Cici’s Pizza in the Capital Plaza shopping center. Other organizations participating and assisting in this program include Target stores, Cops for Charities, Capital Metro, Capital Metro Security Team, St. Chubby Golf Classic and Cici’s Pizza.

Amigos en Azul was founded in 1982 to better bridge the gap between the Hispanic community and the Austin Police Department, officials said. The group does much more than just go shopping with kids during the holidays. They also:

• Award scholarships to area high school students.
• Encourage recruitment of youth into law enforcement careers and provide a progressive image with which they can identify.
• Stimulate by word and deed a more positive identification with law enforcement on behalf of the entire Austin community.
• Improve the lines of communication between Spanish speaking people in the community and law enforcement.
• Involved in the established police-community relation programs with the Austin community in adherence to Austin Police Department policies.
• Volunteer in the community conducting outreach programs and crime prevention.

Each year, roughly 50 children benefit from the annual tradition, according to a City of Austin dispatch. Earlier this year, Officer Albino Cadenas conveyed the fulfillment he derives in being a member of Amigos en Azul:

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