dev.citrusheightssentinel.com

Tag: shop with a cop

  • Citrus Heights police hold biggest-ever ‘Shop with a Cop’ event at Walmart

    Sentinel staff report–
    In what police say was the biggest “Shop with a Cop” event in the department’s history, officers and police staff packed into the Citrus Heights Walmart store on Wednesday to take 49 kids on a shopping spree through the store.

    Each child was given $125 to shop, while accompanied by a police officer through the store. Police Lt. Michael Wells said several children exceeded the dollar amount, but officers “reached into their own wallets to cover the difference.”

    The children who participate are selected by the San Juan Unified School District each year, with typically about 25 children participating. This year’s event had nearly double the number of children, along with a total of about 80 police officers, city staff and Rotary Club members.

    A five-minute video posted online by the police department shows highlights from the event, including the arrival of participants in police vehicles.

    One girl interviewed in the video said the first gift she was buying was for her dad, telling the interviewer it was “because he’s the (most) special dad I ever saw in my life.”

    The event kicked off with a pancake breakfast at the Citrus Heights Community Center provided by Assemblyman Ken Cooley’s Office and concluded with a box lunch provided by the Subway store inside Walmart.

    The department also thanked Pepsi, the Citrus Heights Rotary Club, Police Activities League, and Walmart for their contributions.

  • ‘Shop with a cop’ event takes kids on free Walmart spree

    Shop with a cop, citrus heights
    Lt. Ryan Kinnan, left, takes a student on a trek through the Citrus Heights Walmart during ‘Shop with a cop’, Wednesday.

    Updated Dec. 17, 1:37 p.m.–
    Calling it an annual favorite event, more than 20 uniformed police officers grabbed a shopping cart and took 14 local students on a $100 shopping spree through the Citrus Heights Walmart Wednesday morning.

    “What’s great about the kids is — more often than not — they’re not here just for themselves; they’re here for practical items,” said Citrus Heights Police Lt. Ryan Kinnan, after taking a student through the store. “They’re not loading up on candy, not loading up on toys, not loading up on video games, but actually for things they need.”

    Touring down isles for about an hour, kids from age 5 to 17 could be seen picking out items and loading up shopping carts pushed by police officers. One student picked out items while riding on an officer’s shoulders, while a Walmart employee pushed a cart behind them.

    Lt. Kinnan said police coordinate with local schools to select students based on their family situation, school behavior, and other criteria. He said students from Woodside, Mariposa, Grand Oaks, Arlington, Carriage Drive and Kingswood elementary schools participated this year; as well as students from Sylvan Middle School and San Juan and Mesa Verde high schools.

    “Most of these kids actually start looking for their brothers or sisters [to] buy them something,” said Kinnan, commenting that one girl ended up buying an outfit for her sister and a small toy for her brother.

    [Related: CHPD Holiday Referral Program to benefit in-need Citrus Heights families]

    Both Walmart Store Manager Nick Gonnella and Citrus Heights Police Chief Christopher Boyd called the annual event one of their “favorites” to participate in each year — one that brings a noticeable smile to officers, kids, and store employees. The cost of the items at checkout is also donated by Walmart each year.

    [follow text=”Follow local news:”]

    Police say the annual “Shop with a cop” event is held to build positive relationships with young people and create positive interactions with the community and police.

    “Things like this — this is what we do,” Lt. Kinnan said, commenting that people often don’t see police positively interacting with the public. “We go out, we shop with the kids, we laugh, we have families, we coach — this is why we became cops: to help people.”

    *Note: KCRA 3 and Univision 19 also provided video coverage of the event. As of 1 p.m. Thursday, only Univision’s coverage was available online. Click here to watch. Video by the San Juan Unified School District from a prior year’s “Shop with a cop” can also be viewed by clicking here.

    A pair of Citrus Heights police officers help a young student pick out items during a 'Shop with a cop' event at Walmart, Wednesday. // CH Sentinel
    A pair of Citrus Heights police officers help a young student pick out items during a ‘Shop with a cop’ event at Walmart, Wednesday. // CH Sentinel

  • Police hand out ‘holiday cheer’ to Citrus Heights families, kids

    Citrus Heights police officers were out offering some “holiday cheer” this week, hand-delivering community donations to families in need and taking a few lucky students through Walmart for an annual “Shop with a Cop” event.

    Shop with a cop, citrus heights police department.
    Citrus Heights police tweeted this photo of officers helping push a child’s cart through Walmart during the Department’s “Shop with a Cop” event, Wednesday.

    On Wednesday, 13 students were selected to “Shop with a Cop,” where each child was provided with free breakfast by Subway, followed by a trek through the Citrus Heights Walmart — each child armed with a free gift card and two uniformed police officers by their side.

    “Some of the children were more focused on purchasing items for their siblings and parents, as opposed to items for themselves,” said CHPD Sergeant Mike Wells, adding that he and other officers were “touched” when they saw a 12-year-old girl use her gift card to buy socks for her mom and a bike for her little brother. “Although all the children involved had smiling faces, I think the officers involved in the event enjoy it just as much, if not more than the kids.”

    Officers were also out the rest of the day delivering donated goods collected in November and December from the Citrus Heights Holiday Referral Program, a community-involved effort created to help families who experienced a hardship over the past year.

    With lights flashing, and a stop or two to let CHPD officers show off on their motorcycles, police and city officials helped personally deliver donations to the 34 Citrus Heights families who had been identified for assistance this year, according to Sergeant Wells. Donations included clothing, food, toys, household items and 65 turkeys — donated by residents, neighborhood groups, and local businesses.

    “Great Citrus Heights community partnerships is why we can help another family in the Citrus Heights community!!” the Department tweeted towards the end of the day’s deliveries. Police also thanked Walmart and Subway for their contributions to Wednesday’s giveaways.