“This is the best day of my life.”
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders received those words from a little girl after 35 deputies, officers, spouses, support staff and more took 31 local children shopping in Yelm for Christmas on Wednesday, Dec. 13.
Sanders teamed up with Yelm Police Department, Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County and Family Support Center to provide the kids a convoy escort from the YPD office to Walmart in Yelm, with dozens of law enforcement vehicles parading the streets with sirens and lights. Each child chose an officer or staff member with whom to shop, and they bought their families and themselves Christmas gifts. Once the shopping was complete, they were escorted to the Yelm Community Center, where they wrapped their gifts for their families.
The event was made possible by the Thurston County Fire and Ice charity basketball game, as all proceeds were collected by the Olympia Firefighters Foundation.
“Can’t even begin to explain how special this event was to me, but I could not be more impressed with everyone who volunteered and gave every single one of these kids memories that will last their entire life,” Sanders wrote in a Facebook post.
The shopping spree was the first of its kind in the Yelm area, and the organizers worked with Boys & Girls Club branches in Yelm, Rochester and Tenino to identify children who would most benefit from the event. It was sponsored by Walmart, which provided special gift bags and set aside registers for the children to check out with the officers, and Farrelli’s Pizza and the City of Yelm.
“I think Shop With a Cop is such a special opportunity to connect law enforcement to youth in our community, and it gives kids a chance to see them in a really special light,” said Shellica Trevino, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County. “A lot of the kids of Thurston County are experiencing things that you don’t want kids to experience as kids, but we have a sheriff who can see that and knows that they need to be met where they are and give them a day of fun, which was really what Shop With a Cop was all about.”
Officer Averie Ford, who also serves as a student resource officer at Yelm High School, said that the child she shopped with was a student in a class that she had read to and he recognized her. When they strolled the aisles looking for gifts, the boy prioritized finding gifts for his family members rather than himself.
“He knew exactly what his two sisters wanted immediately, and he knew exactly which tool his dad would want and what his mom wanted,” Ford said. “And when it came to him, he really had no idea. That is a huge character strength to have because so many times kids only care about what they want for Christmas.”
Trevino said such acts from kids in the community speak to their character and selflessness, traits she sees daily in her job.
“Sometimes the media can depict a generation that is selfish, and I know in our work each day, we don’t see that,” she said. “We see compassion in the youth that we serve. We see big hearts and a willingness to help other people.”
The event was not only special for the kids and their families, but for the officers as well, especially Sanders, who was selected for a similar Shop With a Cop event as a child.
“He spoke to us about how he was part of it as a kid, and it hit him so hard and it meant so much to him,” Ford said of Sanders. “It was truly priceless to see the smiles on those kids and all the fun that the deputies and officers were having. I’m looking forward to next year.”
