The dates for this year’s events are:
* Tuesday, December 15th, Redmond Wal-Mart, from approximately 1-5pm
* Wednesday, December 16th, Redmond Wal-Mart, from approximately 1-5pm
* Thursday, December 17th, Bend Wal-Mart, from approximately 1-5pm
2015 will be the fifteenth year this event has taken place. The program has come a long ways since its inception in 2001; that year, 20 school-aged students went shopping, and the $1500 in donations came from employees at the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.
During 2014’s program, 115 school-aged children (grades 1-12) from schools in Deschutes County participated, shopping for approximately 540 family members. Many times, the students are hesitant to get anything for themselves, instead being more concerned with other family members. The officers always try and ensure that the student shoppers get something for themselves, and, many times, a warm winter coat or a new set of snow boots “magically” appears in the shopping cart. Gifts are not always “fun and game” items; they often include shoes, clothing, personal items, household items and other needed supplies.
Shop with a Cop is completely funded by donations from our community. Many businesses, organizations, and individual citizens give money to the program. No tax dollars are spent on this program. In addition to shopping with the students, SWAC partners with Food 4 Less to help provide a Christmas meal for some families.
Participating students are referred primarily by a community based advocacy group that works directly with school aged children at most schools throughout Deschutes County. Additional students are referred via the Central Oregon Partnership for Youth (COPY) program, which provides positive mentoring for children of incarcerated parents. The selected students are picked up by officers at their respective schools and driven to Wal-Mart where they then enjoy a “one-on-one” shopping experience with their uniformed partner. While gifts are being wrapped, the students are treated to lunch, donated by the in-store McDonald’s restaurants.
Although Shop with a Cop is overseen and coordinated by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, its continued success stems from the participation of officers from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, police departments throughout Deschutes County, the Oregon State Police and U.S. Forest Service and BLM law enforcement. Shop with a Cop has also been overwhelmingly successful in past years because of the outstanding generosity, in the form of monetary support, from local citizens and businesses. Volunteer support for the program has always been a critical part of the program’s success as well.
For businesses and citizens who would like to make a monetary contribution towards this year’s program, donations can be dropped off during normal business hours at the main Sheriff’s Office in Bend, or at the Sheriff’s Office’s substations in La Pine and Sisters. Checks, made out to “DESCHUTES COUNTY SHERIFF SWAC”, can also be mailed to:
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office
Attn: Shop with a Cop program
63333 West Highway 20
Bend, OR 97701
Additional information regarding Shop with a Cop, including a pictorial presentation, will be posted at the Deschutes County website (www.deschutes.org) and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office website (www.sheriff.deschutes.org) in the near future.
