'Shop With A Cop' 2014 Highlights

The Clackamas County Peace Officers' Benevolent Foundation co-hosted its annual "Shop with a Cop" charitable event on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014, with the first volunteers arriving by 7:30 a.m. at the Clackamas Wal-Mart.

During "Shop with a Cop," local law-enforcement officers locate children whose families have had some enforcement contact with police, present those children with gift cards, and then shop with them at the Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart provides a separate check-out area for the event -- wrapping all the gifts for the kids and supplying gift wrap, ribbon and tags. It's an opportunity for police and kids to get to know one another; any concerns the kids may have had about police are often changed for the better.

In 2013, 117 children from communities throughout Clackamas County were at the event -- paired with 53 law-enforcement personnel from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Oregon State Police, Clackamas County Community Corrections, and the Molalla, Canby, West Linn, Milwaukie, Sandy, and Lake Oswego Police Departments. "Interestingly, almost all the kids shopped for their family members first, then themselves!" reports the CCPOBF in its blog post promoting the 2014 event ( http://ccpobf.org/christmas-shop-with... ).

This year, the CCPOBF worked to raise enough money so that 135 kids can Shop with a Cop.

Kids are selected by school counselors or school resource officers and come from Sandy, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Wilsonville, Oregon City, Estacada, Gladstone, Molalla, Colton and the North Clackamas School District.

This year, children will once again received $100 Wal-Mart gift certificates and will be "assigned" their very own law-enforcement officers to accompany them during their shopping sprees.

For more information on this year's event, click here: http://ccpobf.org/christmas-shop-with...

ABOUT 'SHOP WITH A COP'

"Shop with a Cop" helps bridge relationships between children and the police. These children are specifically chosen because their families may have experienced prior law-enforcement activity with police -- creating a significant impact on the child. Witnessing the arrest of a loved one can cause many youngsters to harbor strong negative feelings towards law-enforcement. "Shop with a Cop" presents an opportunity to identify with those children and pair them together with a law-enforcement officer in a positive situation -- shopping for Christmas presents.

Once again, Wal-Mart has graciously donated funds to the event -- in addition to providing Wal-Mart staff and all necessary wrapping paper. Santa will also be there for a photo op.

Along with Wal-Mart's generosity, the event would not be possible without the Clackamas County Benevolent Foundation's support -- provided by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Canby Police Department, Molalla Police Department, West Linn Police Department, Lake Oswego Police Department and public generosity. All had a major hand in contributing financially and physically to this event.

DONATIONS WELCOME

All members of the community are more than welcome to participate in this event by donating any amount of money in the form of check or money order made out to CCPOBF, P.O. Box 426, Oregon City, OR 97045. A receipt for your taxes will be mailed to you promptly.

More info on CCPOBF donations here: http://ccpobf.org/make-a-donation/

ABOUT THE CCPOBF

The Clackamas County Peace Officers Benevolent Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization that assists police officers and their families in Clackamas County when an officer is injured or killed. The Foundation also works closely with programs dedicated to helping at-risk children. For more information visit http://ccpobf.org