Yelm Walmart was filled with Christmas spirit as 40 children from Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County and Family Support Center joined Yelm Police Department officers and Thurston County deputies for the Shop With A Cop event Thursday, Dec. 19.
The shoppers had the opportunity to ride along with a law enforcement officer for a lights and sirens escort to Walmart, where each child got to pick a deputy or officer to help them purchase $200 worth of gifts for them and their family.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office raised more than $7,000 this year with the Fire and Ice Basketball fundraiser game, along with donations from Walmart, Kaufman Construction & Development Inc., Spin Tees and private citizens. Once the gifts were purchased, shoppers and cops trekked to the Yelm Community Center, where they wrapped their gifts and enjoyed pizza and cupcakes.
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders heard the phrase “this is the best day of my life” from a shopper to their deputy for the second year in a row.
“This is probably one of the more effective things we get to do in government is organize events like this and take care of our community,” he said. “The whole point of today is to give them a memory that they otherwise would not have had and to offer them some funding they may not have access to.”
Sanders said most of the patrol deputies in attendance volunteered their time to roam the aisles with children, who bought everything from toys to clothes to boxes of cereal and rolls of toilet paper.
“This goes to show that we care about our community, we care about the kids here, and we want to make sure that people feel safe and included. Regardless of your socioeconomic status, we’ll take care of you, and we’re going to try to find a way to help you out,” he said.
Yelm Police Sgt. Anthony Sparkuhl concurred that the Shop With A Cop event is one of the most important things in the community. He added that the experience helps children build trust with law enforcement and gives them an opportunity to have fun.
“One of the biggest highlights was when my kid walked by something that had a three-figure dollar tag and his eyes lit up and he looked right at me. I could tell that face because I get that face, too, and being able to tell him, ‘Yes, grab it,’ it just warms you up and makes you feel good,” Sparkuhl said. “It’s the holiday spirit.”
Mike Babauta, director of resource development with Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County, was impressed by how many children prioritized shopping for their families rather than themselves, even with the temptation of the many aisles of toys at their disposal.
“It’d be very easy for a kid to just fill a cart full of toys that they want, but most kids have figured out what they’re going to get for their family members and their loved ones,” he said. “That’s really cool.”
When Sanders was 8 years old, he was in the same shoes as the children from Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County and the Family Support Center, he said. He lived in shelters and was by definition homeless, and he participated in the Shop With A Cop event in Colorado.
“This caught me off guard when I was younger. I’ll never forget that police officer in Colorado who took me on that journey,” Sanders said. “I got to have fun at a time in my life where I was not having any fun.”
Sanders is proud of the growth of the Shop With A Cop and Fire and Ice basketball events from year one to year two. The amount each child got to spend doubled this year thanks to the support of businesses and community members.
“I want to continue to grow both events simultaneously. I want to be able to support more kids and give them more funding,” Sanders said. “Everyone seems to be really happy with it and the structure.”
