First responders provide Christmas shopping experience for 90 children

December 19, 2018 | 3:24 am

Updated December 20, 2018 | 6:34 am

Photo by AP Imagery

There was a different kind of glow to the lights of Christmas last night, as 90 children and their parents boarded school buses to a full police escort, complete with lights and sirens, from Life Community Church to the Walmart on Frederica Street.

The caravan was made up of 60 members of law enforcement and first responders from 11 surrounding organizations including the Owensboro Police Department, Daviess County Sheriff’s Office, Daviess County Detention Center, Emergency Medical Services, Constables, Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals, McLean County Sheriff’s Office, Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office, Kentucky State Police and Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement, along with several of their family members.

Shop With a Cop has been a biannual event in Owensboro for over 30 years, occurring once at the end of summer for back to school shopping, and again in December to shop for Christmas.

The Fraternal Order of Police fundraises and prepares all year for these two events so that they can do the most good for the children of the Owensboro community with the resources they are given.

According to Public Information Officer Andrew Boggess, while the dollar amount per child may fluctuate each year depending on the amount raised, this year each child had close to $150 to spend. The children are then asked to, with adult and parental guidance as necessary, divide that money between clothing needs and wants, such as toys and electronics.

While most of the children are able to come up with a good balance of each, there are a few times Officer Boggess can recall, that a child made a different decision.

“I had a kid a few years ago that put a bunch of toys back because he wanted dress clothes,” Boggess said, adding that he then spent part of the evening showing the young man how to properly tie a tie.

Tuesday evening, the Owensboro Times followed two different sets of brothers and their officer-chaperones as they shopped. The first set of brothers, ages five and seven, did not hesitate to head straight to the toy department to hunt out dinosaurs and Avengers items. The boys continued to add items to their cart until their chaperone told them it was time to stop and save money for clothing.

In the clothing department, brothers Jack and Michael, in middle and high school, respectively, were more concerned about having enough money for clothes than they were toys.

Jack selected several pairs of casual joggers along with coordinating shirts and a zip-up athletic jacket, before saving the remaining $60 dollars for video games and electronics.

After guiding Jack through the shopping process, and with a much different taste in dress, Michael elected to spend all of his money on clothing. The cart held a brand new pair of boots as the centerpiece, as Michael created a neat pile of dress shirts and jeans, before adding a warm outdoor coat.

The two boys then headed to the electronics section to look at video games for Jack’s remaining money.

The boys’ shopping partner for the evening, Daviess County Sheriff’s Deputy Kenny Burns, said that shopping for teenage boys was not his strength, given that he has two elementary-aged children at home. However, Deputy Burns encouraged the boys throughout the shopping trip, as he kept a running tally of their expenses so as to avoid overspending.

While the evening displayed the hearts of many men and women in uniform, by far one of the more touching moments of the evening occurred as shopping was winding down and the final families were making their purchases.

A young boy, who appeared to have literally shopped until he dropped, found comfort and rest in the arms of DCDC jailer Art Maglinger. Another officer captured a picture of the moment and shared it with the Owensboro Times.

December 19, 2018 | 3:24 am

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