Kids and Cops shop for gifts and cheer

By: Erin Matheny/Staff Reporter

Posted: 12/7/07

The holiday season is usually a time for happiness and cheer.

But for children who suffer from poverty, the holiday times are not very cheerful.

To help those children in need, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 88 of the Charleston Police Department will host its annual Shop with a Cop event, followed by a pizza party in Thomas Hall on Sunday.

Officer Stu Myers, the treasurer for FOP Lodge 88, said Shop with a Cop has been going on for several years, getting money from the community to help the kids.

"We usually spend about $100-150 on the kids and the money comes from the community. It's a means to help the kids," he said.

While he is scheduled to work this year, Myers said he hopes to be able to take at least one group through the stores. He also said that his family gets involved, with his wife and son coming in to help out with the event.

The children who participate in the event are anywhere from two to 16 years old and the officers usually try to get them clothes and other things they need first, saving some money at the end for the kids to get some gifts that they want.

The kids are taken to Wal-Mart to shop.

The kids will go shopping with the police officers in half hour shifts from 8-10 a.m. before heading to the pizza party in Thomas Hall.

"We take anywhere from 20-25 kids at a time, so there should be about 125 kids total," Myers said.

Thomas Hall Secretary Keith Darby said the pizza party should start around 11 a.m. in Thomas Hall, with Santa showing up around noon to take pictures with the kids, and then ending about 1 or 2 p.m.

Darby said that he had looked at some past issues of the Warbler and noticed that a "Christmas with the Kids" event has taken place in Thomas Hall since it opened in the 1960s.

"It's a long Thomas Hall tradition and we intend to keep it going for as long as we can."