Saturday is 10th Annual Milwaukee 'Shop with a Cop' for Area Children

MILWAUKEE, WI — On Saturday, Dec. 3, 75 area kids will shop for holiday gifts with sheriff’s deputies and police. Correctional officers, civilian staff, Explorers and Police Aides are also volunteering for the event.

Sheriff David Clarke first became aware of “Shop With a Cop” while visiting family in Green Bay when he saw the nationally acclaimed program advertised in a local newspaper, according to a press release. The program builds positive relationships among law enforcement officers and young people in the community. In 2007, Sheriff Clarke started the program in Milwaukee County.

The Sheriff’s Office reached out to the Milwaukee-area business community and successfully secured funding for the program for its 10th year. Donations will allow children from Journey House, Boys and Girls Club, Neighborhood House, the SOS Center and the Lighthouse Youth Center to enjoy breakfast and a day of holiday shopping with a law enforcement officer.

Each child from first through eighth grades will be paired with a law enforcement officer. They’ll board a chartered bus at Journey House and head to the Hilton City Center downtown for a catered breakfast and then to Walmart.

At Walmart, the children will be able to purchase up to $100 of gifts for family members and themselves. After shopping, they’ll head back to Journey House where volunteers from Girl Scouts, Kohl’s Cares, and the community will wrap their gifts with them, and the kids will take pictures with Santa and enjoy pizza and holiday activities.

Sheriff’s deputies will be joined by police officers from Milwaukee, Fox Point, Greenfield, Greendale, Hales Corners, Oak Creek, St. Francis, West Allis, Wisconsin State Fair Park, Marquette University and UW-Milwaukee, along with deputy marshals from the US Marshals Service.

“This is a great opportunity to make a child’s holiday a little brighter,” said Sheriff Clarke. “If we influence children early, we can forge a positive perception of law enforcement officers that will last a lifetime.”

The MCSO thanks all the participating businesses and organizations for their monetary and in-kind donations which make this event possible: Jani-King, The Marcus Corporation, Surg Restaurant Group, McDonald’s, Walmart, Journey House, Go Riteway, The Business Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, SEVVA Salon and Nail Boutique, and Distinctively Different Quartet. A special thank you to anonymous individual contributors who sponsored children for this event.

Image by Florida Fish and Wildlife via Flickr Commons