By Elizabeth Richardson
Photos by Lisa Allmendinger
If you happened to be shopping at the Jackson Road Meijer in Scio Township Wednesday night, you might have been surprised to find a long line of Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office patrol cars outside and numerous law enforcement personnel inside.
And that would be because the annual December Shop with a Cop event took place on Dec. 4.
In fact, about 45 volunteers, made up primarily of law enforcement officers from across the county, made it a special night for about 85 children from across Washtenaw County.
On hand were active sheriff’s deputies, retired deputies, cops from Northfield and Chelsea Police departments, corrections officers, metro, and police services who spent four hours making new friends and Christmas dreams come true. Sgt. Keith Flores, who heads the Dexter substation, was responsible for making this event a reality.
During Shop with a Cop, law enforcement and other volunteers assist kid partners get their face’s painted, design holiday cards, and craft stockings and glittery ornaments.
There was cookie decorating, pizza eating, and even a magic show to make the night extra special. Plus, everyone had a special audience with Santa Claus. And, a candy cane, too.
Every cop was assigned to two kids, who became their special buddies and partners for the night. The law enforcement officials assisted their two charges with all the fun activities that Meijer set up in the back of their store. There were lots of tables with individual activities and the teams of children and officers got to know each other while spending time together.
Participating from the Chelsea Police Department were Chief Ed Toth and Officer Rick Cornell. Although Toth has taken part in this event for a number of years, and always enjoys the experience, this was Cornell’s first time.
The back of the store was filled with excited, happy kids wearing name tags and special light blue t-shirts that read “Shop with a Cop.” After a magic show by Colors the Clown, kids and cops made lists and checked them twice determining who they wanted to buy Christmas gifts for and what they’d like to get.
Each child was given $100 to spend any way they wanted to and each officer kept a running total of their choices to make sure they stayed within their budget. Surprisingly, most of the items on their lists were for family members and friends. Gifts for others far outnumbered the gifts they wanted for themselves. Some kids were tired after all the early activities, that when it came time to shop, they rode around in shopping carts while their cop buddies pushed.
At the end of the evening, each kid also got a special backpack with their name on it – just one more gift that Meijer donated. Then their cops helped them wrap the gifts they’d chosen.
The Shop with a Cop program was started 12 years ago and was originally held in the Dexter Public Schools.
But several years ago, Meijer approached the Sheriff’s Office and offered to host the event. Each year since then, the event has grown said Kathy Wyatt of the sheriff’s office, who gave special kudos to Ben Negron, general manager of Meijer.
“The Sheriff’s Office wants to thank Meijer and Ben. We couldn’t do such a great event without them and it is growing each year.” Wyatt said, adding, “This partnership makes the community stronger and helps kids grow up stronger, too.”
“Kim,” a very special employee of Meijer was responsible for pulling together all of the events and food for the evening. Ready to deliver twins, she said she’d been telling her doctor that she couldn’t have her children until after the “Shop with a Cop.” Luckily, for all involved, she was able to be a full participant on Wednesday.
Eman Boykin of La Fontaine in Ann Arbor said that employees from three dealership locations donated over
$1,700 to the effort to be used anyway the organizers saw fit.
In addition, there were 20 sorority sisters from Delta Delta Delta house who helped the kids and spent lots of time assisting them with activities. They said they were very proud to volunteer and participating in the event had been something passed down from older to newer members of the house.
Also helping out were members of the U-M Women’s Tennis team and the U-M Dance Team as well as its Coach Valerie Potsos. In her 12th year as coach, Potsos said that this was the first year the dance team had volunteered but that they’d definitely do it again.
She felt that her students, who attend “the best university in the world,” recognize that there are so many kids that do not have the advantages that they have and the team wanted to give back to the community.
Negron explained that Meijer has a local donation program for each of its 200 stores. Meijer, which is headquartered in Michigan, donates over $10,000 to local non-profits.
Shop with Cop portrays the motto of the founder of Meijer Fred Meijer. He once said, “We didn’t want to be just a merchant, we wanted to be a good neighbor.” To Negron, these are not just words, rather a way of doing business and caring about the community. Other ongoing Meijer projects are assisting 4-H kids by buying their livestock and donating the meat to the St. Louis Center of Chelsea. In fact, Meijer and St. Louis Center have a close relationship as the store has employed many of their residents.
Sheriff Jerry Clayton and Under Sheriff Mark Ptaszek, have made sure that all the people involved – the volunteers, law enforcement, Meijer employees and the kids — come together to make this a magical evening for all involved.
It’s a night that will be remembered by everyone involved because on Christmas morning when wrapping paper is being torn off gifts in these 85 children’s homes, these volunteers will know what a large part they played in making it happen. And, each kid will have the great memories of making a new friend in law enforcement.
Please enjoy the photo gallery below.
