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St. Henry Police Chief Mike Link helps a kid check off items on his Christmas list during Shop with a Cop at Walmart on Saturday morning.
CELINA - Officers from every law enforcement agency serving Mercer County roamed up and down the aisles of Walmart on Saturday morning, helping children pick out toys, video games and even some practical gifts.
Playing a markedly different role as Santa's helpers, the police officers, state troopers and deputies made sure roughly 42 kids from struggling families throughout the county didn't go without this Christmas.
The annual Shop with a Cop program saw officers paired with youths and their parents or grandparents. Together, they filled up shopping carts, with each kid ending up with about $200 worth of Christmas gifts, said Celina Police Chief Tom Wale.
"We've got a strong faith-based community that believes in helping each other out and they do that, they do that ever year," Wale said about donations made by veterans and civic clubs, organizations and individuals.
Officials have been blessed to be able to bump up the spending allotment per child the last few years, Wale said.
"It is generous, and we did elect to go a little higher simply because we've had a couple years of serious inflation here," he noted. "While that may have leveled out here recently, the prices have still gone up dramatically."
Ohio State Highway Patrol Troopers help pick out Christmas gifts for a child.
Representatives from Celina, Coldwater, St. Henry, Rockford and Fort Recovery police departments, the Mercer County Sheriff's Office and Ohio State Highway Patrol volunteered to serve as the kids' shopping buddies.
"They all step up to help and even some of our dispatchers show up to help," Wale said. "Everybody enjoys it, everybody has a good time. It's something that we can do to give back to the community and it gives to us as well."
Regular participants such as Celina Police Sgt. Colin Fuelling and former Celina Assistant Police Chief Calvin Freeman, now the county clerk of courts, were joined by first-time Christmas shopping assistants, including Kyle Strohl, a deputy with the Mercer County Sheriff's Office.
"I've got a daughter who's two years old, just always wanted to do it," Strohl said. "I enjoyed it a lot."
Celina Assistant Police Chief Dan Harting takes pictures during Shop with a Cop.
Celina Assistant Police Chief Dan Harting was on hand, too. He said the younger kids are apt to engage officers in talk than the older ones.
"Some of them are a little talkative and some are just quiet," he added.
In addition to providing Christmas presents, the program's other goal is to show an affable side of law enforcement, that officers are caring and approachable, according to Wale.
"If someone's from a family that maybe has the tendency to get into legal trouble, it's not the kid's fault," Wale said.
Freeman said his experiences walking down the rows with children over the years have been overwhelmingly positive.
"It's a great program. You see the smiles on the faces of the kids," he said. "We know that children that we're helping are children that need and deserve a nice Christmas."
Community clubs and organizations have been instrumental in keeping the Shop with a Cop program afloat through sizable donations.
Each year, CALL Ministries is asked to select a number of families in need from within Mercer County and nominates them to participate in Shop with a Cop.
CALL Ministries knows best who in the county is most in need of help, Wale said. Along with operating a food and clothing pantry, they also organize other programs, including a backpack program that gives qualifying students in need bags full of food to keep them fed when they're not in school.
Many of the kids adhered to the program guideline of picking out something sensible, such as clothing and shoes or items for school. But they also chose video games and stuffed animals on Saturday morning.
"Obviously we don't want Christmas just to be about boring stuff. What kid wants clothes for Christmas? They want something fun," Wale said.
Officers were paired with youths and their parents or grandparents during Shop with a Cop.
And it wouldn't be the holidays if the children didn't get to fill up their bellies. Celina Dairy Queen owner Jessica Wolfe has been coming out to Shop with a Cop for the last three years.
"We had out free meal tickets for the kids and families," she said.
When Wale ascended to the top of the department in 2014 he made it a priority to hold Shop with a Cop every year. During the first year under his leadership, the program netted just a few hundred dollars, enough to provide presents for a handful of children.
"We started out nine years ago with five (kids) and less money," he said. "Since then the community heard what we were doing and stepped up."
Community clubs and organizations have been instrumental in keeping the program afloat through sizable donations. But so too have individuals.
"They kind of keep a low profile but they donate fairly heavily for it as well," he said. "They're good people, and we've just got good people. throughout the community."
For instance, a shopper on Saturday morning saw what was going, reached into his wallet and handed over a $20 bill to officers.
"Those $10, $20, $50 donations over the course of this go a long way," Wale said. "A lot of times these donations maybe come in a little late because people like to give at Christmas. They don't realize we start planning this back in October."
Tax deductible donations to Shop with a Cop are accepted year round, Wale said. Those interested can send checks to Grand Lake Law Enforcement Association, P.O. Box 262, Celina, Ohio 456822-0262.
