Just in time for Christmas, two dozen deserving children were given an opportunity to Shop With a Cop on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at the Liberty Walmart store. Organized by Liberty Police Department and the Community Coalition-Liberty, Shop With a Cop pairs children with police officers and firefighters as they look for Christmas presents.
Each child had a $100 spending limit. For some children, this was spent on more expensive items like shoes and sporting goods while other children stretched their money to purchase several less-expensive items. Regardless of how it was spent, every child left the event happy with their selections.
Trina Estes of Liberty, who brought along her daughter and niece, is grateful for the helping hand that Shop With a Cop provided her family.
“It means a lot to me because I am a single mother. My daughter has ADHD, so I am really happy and excited that she was able to get some new learning toys,” Estes said. “She got one toy and the rest was spent on learning toys.”
For Councilwoman Libby Simonson, who donated to this year’s event and previous events, Wednesday was the first time for her to participate in Shop With a Cop.
“I love to see the children get happy. I want to thank (LPD) Sgt. Chris Watson for standing up and taking the lead for this event. He has good support staff helping him with this,” Simonson said.
Councilman Tommy Brents, also a newcomer to the event, also expressed appreciation to Sgt. Watson for organizing the event for another year.
“It was such a privilege to be present for this event and to see how our local law enforcement and emergency service personnel were able to participate in spreading Christmas cheer to the children and families in our community,” Brents said. “I want to give a huge shout out to Officer Watson at Liberty PD for his role in organizing the event, as well as the others who donated and participated to make this year’s Shop With a Cop an astounding success.”
Donations for the event came from Libby Simonson, Star Loans, Toby Wilburn, Panther Wash – Jamie Carter, Walmart, Keri Elliott, Jennifer Beall, IMSDay – Memorie and Randy Meche, Maxx Results Gym – Doug Mueller, Bluebonnet News – Vanesa Brashier, Kevin Webb, Bess Rawlinson, Jacob Stelly & Moon Tune Records, Hardin Harness – Bud and Carolyn Tinney, Worthy Cattle – Robert Worthy and Kelsey Worthy, Dubois Cattle & Tan Liners – Drew and Megan Dubois, Carol Hajovsky, and Calvin and Wade Hudnall.
