Law enforcement gears up for Shop With A Cop event
<p>Sheriff Roby Bowe, left, wanders the aisles of Hometown Variety with 8-year-old second-grader Lexi Afseth, right, as Chelsea Bowe keeps the budget, during Shop with a Cop Day Thursday.</p>
<p>Sheriff Roby Bowe helps 8-year-old second-grader Lexi Afseth pick out a necklace for her mom at Hometown Variety Thursday during Shop with a Cop Day.</p>
<p>Talon Miguel, left, gets acquainted with his shopping partner Deputy Cathy Ruddock during Shop With a Cop day Thursday at Libby Elementary.</p>
Christmas will be a little brighter this year for the families of 35 Lincoln County youngsters. The kids will be participating in the second annual Shop With A Cop program, sponsored by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the Troy Police Department and the Eureka Police Department.
On Dec. 18, officers from the three departments will take the kids out for lunch and shopping to purchase Christmas gifts for their parents and siblings. Sheriff Roby Bowe said the agencies raise money all year long for the program and hope to allow each child a budget of about $200 to spend on their families.
Bowe said he supports the program because he believes it helps to build the community and change the local culture in a positive way.
“It’s amazing to see how these kids and their families react,” he said. “We take them out and help them do something not for themselves, but for their families.”
After shopping, the officers and the children will meet either at dispatch or at the search-and-rescue barn to wrap the presents before returning home.
Last year was the first year for Shop With A Cop in Lincoln County. Bowe said one of his deputies brought the idea to him after reading about it online.
“I thought it was a great idea, so I jumped all over it,” Bowe said.
With a tear in his eye, Bowe told the story of a young girl from last year. After finding presents for her family, a deputy told her she could pick out something for herself. “She just started crying. Then the shop owner started crying. Then the customers in the store started crying,” he said. “Those customers donated on the spot for this year’s event.”
The departments raise money through individual donations as well as contributions from local businesses and corporate sponsors. They raise money all year long hoping to make the season better for the less fortunate in the communities they serve.
This year Bowe expects that 15 people from his department, as well as another five or so from Troy and Eureka, will participate in the program. They have approximately 35 children that will be shopping with a cop for family members this year.