Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home Police Department personnel teamed up with approximately 35 Sweet Home children for a shopping spree at Bi-Mart Saturday morning in the agency’s first local Shop with a Cop event.
After more than 20 years of joining with Lebanon Police Department at Wal-Mart – and with Albany Police Department before that – Sweet Home was able to bring the annual event home, with participation from Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and the U.S. Forest Service, all agencies that also serve the Sweet Home area.
“This is our first one here in Sweet Home,” said Community Services Officer Gina Riley. “We’re really excited about doing it because we’ve always wanted to take the funds given to us right back into the Sweet Home community.
“The reason we chose Bi-Mart is it has a very diverse selection of items.”
Children served by the program range in age from 4 to 18, Riley said. Most of them will shop for friends and family as well as for themselves, which means they will want a wide variety of items available through a department store, the clothing, food, toys, even dog food.
“Most of the kids are displaced kids that are placed in foster care,” Riley said. This year, about half of the participants were foster children. The other half were identified by police officers who thought families might need help.
“What we’re looking for are those that wouldn’t ask,” Riley said.
“It’s just a nice way to maybe provide Christmas to those who are less fortunate,” said Police Chief Jeff Lynn, and he’s happy to be able to hold the event locally this year.
“I have to say that I’m very grateful for it and had a very good officer (Regan Eivers, U.S. Forest Service) who helped us,” said Cassie Hackworth, 15. It’s a good program because “there’s a lot of kids that don’t get Christmas.”
For her family, “this year is going to be a very big struggle,” she said. Her father works in Alaska and won’t be paid till the end of the fishing season, likely the end of the year.
Hackworth purchased four items for herself and gifts for her mother and father.
Each child was given a $75 gift card to go shopping. A police officer accompanied each child, helping them locate items they wanted to buy.
“We were extremely fortunate this year that the community stepped up, and we’re able to offer the kids a few more dollars to shop with,” Riley said. “We have had some really generous individuals come forward.”
The department also raised funds through its annual Steakout, hosted by The Point Restaurant, and from donations to the annual Thanksgiving dinner provided by The Point.
Other individuals and businesses stepped up and donated to gift bags for each child, Riley said.
While Shop With a Cop aims at helping children whose families might need a hand this Christmas, it serves another function, a positive interaction between children and police officers.
In some cases, children may have seen police officers detain and take away their parents, Riley noted. Their families may not have a positive view of law enforcement.
“This could be the only time these kids have positive contact with law enforcement,” she said.