Area law enforcement officers spent part of their day off helping make Christmas brighter for 150 area children, volunteering for the Fraternal Order of Police Shop with a Cop program.
There was already a crowd of Christmas shoppers Sunday afternoon at Walmart, with the Shop with a Cop families and their police escorts adding to the bustling holiday atmosphere.
A fishbowl was placed next to the Shop with a Cop sign encouraging shoppers to help out the cause.
Officers, representing Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Columbus Police Department, Indiana State Police, area town marshals and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, grabbed shopping carts as they were each assigned a family to assist. Many of the officers brought family members or friends to help them with the shopping.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Representatives from the Bartholomew County Coroner’s office and the chaplains for the police agencies also volunteered.
The volunteers were elated to see FOP President Alan Trisler at the registration table, just returned from a hospital stay for a serious health matter while in Florida.
“I’m glad to be vertical,” Trisler joked, saying this year he would sit and delegate duties to the dozens of officers who were there to assist, most dressed in their law enforcement uniforms.
The fundraising goal for this year’s effort was $40,000, an amount Trisler said he is fairly sure the organization has reached through fundraisers plus individual and corporate donations. The money is also used to help kids throughout the year, he said.
At Shop with a Cop, each child being assisted is allocated $225, which is divided into $40 to $60 for toys and the rest for clothing, with an emphasis on essentials such as shoes, coats, gloves and hats and school clothes.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Trisler said as the families began arriving at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. “If they had to set up a hospital bed for me to be in, I would still be here.”
One of the goals of the event was for the children to not only have a better Christmas, but to make friends with police officers, Trisler said.
The Fraternal Order of Police wants the youngsters to learn to look to police officers whenever they need help, as opposed to fearing them.
Organizers asked officers to “take the time to get to know your ‘shopper’ as best you can in the short time you are with them.”
Rookie, veteran shoppers
One of the first groups to head out into the store was Brown County Sheriff’s deputy Jim Green Jr., assisted by friend Lisa Moore, a pair who have been working together at Shop with a Cop for about 15 years.
They were helping Faith Lambert, 9, find new clothes, focusing on jeans and tops.
Green would hold up an item for Faith to consider, and she agreed with some of his ideas. He has experience occasionally shopping for three granddaughters.
Moore encouraged Faith to grab anything she liked, with final choices to be made after she tried the items on.
While many of the officers were veterans at Shop with a Cop, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputy Frank Munoz was in his first year volunteering, assisted by fiance Alyssa Garner.
Munoz and Garner helped Andrea De Arcia Santiago, 12, and Mariana De Arcia Santiago, 10, each find a Polaroid camera they wanted.
Columbus Police Officer Kelly Holley brought her daughter Anna, 8, to help her as the two helped Jjolexys Rodriguez, 13, look for clothes.
Holley said her daughter had been asking if she could volunteer, too, and this year Anna was old enough to help, including pushing the cart.
“You lead the way and we’ll follow,” Holley told Jjolexys as the three navigated the junior department. When Rodriguez picked out a soft maroon sweater, Holley told her, “That’s a great color for you. It will look great on you.”
DNR law enforcement officer Jay Noble has volunteered for about six years with Shop with a Cop.
“I’m not the best shopper in the world, but I try,” Noble said, while helping Evan Fields look over some remote-controlled toys and giving advice on what some of them would and would not do, from field test experience with his own sons.
Versailles Post Indiana State Trooper Edward Olibo and his wife Julie were smiling as their shopper, Santos de Jesus Dera Cruz, picked out a bright lime green bicycle as his toy choice.
Olibo, who is Fraternal Order of Police lodge sergeant at arms, said Shop with a Cop is special to him and to his family.
“I go out and raise some money through the corporate partnerships. Usually two of my daughters are here. They speak Spanish, and they come and help translate,” he said.
Kids helping kids
One of the things that has touched Olibo is the kids who tell their officer escorts they want to give up their toy money in order to buy clothing or shoes for a sibling.
“That pulls at your heartstrings,” Olibo said.
Shop with a Cop is an event where law enforcement officers — who handle tragedies and misfortune on a daily basis — can be part of something positive and uplifting, he said.
“This environment is very special,” Olibo said as he watched his young shopper beam as he sat on his new bike.
And each family received a group photo with the law enforcement officer and volunteers who assisted them during Shop with a Cop.
Each boy or girl and their families also received a coupon from Subway inside Walmart for a meal, and a new toothbrush and toothpaste, none of which counted toward the $225 total.
Smoke detectors were also sent home with families who needed them, along with batteries, which also was not part of the shopping allocation.
Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Dave Steinkoenig, assisted by his wife Beth and daughter Alivia, were already on their second shopping trip only an hour into the event.
Steinkoenig suggested heading straight for the toys first, where his shopper Benjamin Mojica, 6, immediately had his eye on a Stanley Jr. Tool set, which went right into the cart.
It was then off to the apparel department where Mojicia picked out Spiderman shoes.
“The coolest part — you do run into kids who spend their money buying things for their brothers and sisters,” Steinkoenig said.
As they headed off to the clothing area, Steinkoenig was smiling as Benjamin gleefully handed him a hat to add to his shopping total, while racing back to find another item.
“I’ve built a rapport with him,” Steinkoenig said. “Hey buddy, want to look at some socks?”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”How to help” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
To donate to the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 89 Shop with a Cop program, drop off donations to the Columbus Police Department or Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
