Shop with a Cop

People are checking their shopping lists twice to make sure they grabbed everything they need for the holidays – but some families aren’t always able to afford that entire list. That’s why the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office hosts Shop with a Cop, allowing some local kids to hit the aisles of the store themselves. Deputy Dave Tackett tells us it’s a lot to set up, but it’s always worth it for the volunteers. 

Tackett says “it’s quite a bit to coordinate, but it’s amazing every year how I see all of these people that are willing to come out, the businesses that are willing to donate to this project, the volunteers. It really is amazing, all of the people that come together for this one night.”

Tackett adds that they bring in kids from around the county for the special shopping experience. 

He says “the $50 they get to shop with the officer is spent for Christmas with their family. So they may buy presents for their brothers or sisters, maybe mom or dad, and they usually get something for themselves. We also ahead of time buy about two-hundred different toys and we have a toy table where all of the kids get to go over to the toy table and pick something out just for themselves.”

Tackett thinks the whole event is a special time for kids and volunteers alike. 

He believes that “there’s something about Christmas time and the time of giving and I think a lot of people get a large boost out of helping others. The kids that are involved, some of them are in need, maybe their families don’t have as much – but some of them also go through other types of troubles, maybe they’ve had the death of somebody close to them recently – so there’s various reasons that we choose the kids.”

More than one-hundred officers from around the county are volunteering to help out with the event, which is being held at the Fond du Lac Walmart this Thursday.