Kids will get toys, gifts when they Shop With a Cop
ELKO — This Christmas season, Elko-area first responders will take 100 children shopping at Walmart.
The board of the volunteer-run Shop With a Cop charity selects children ages 5 to 12 from financially challenged families to participate.
"Shop With a Cop is 100% donor-based. All of the donations that we receive go to the kids locally. They don't get shipped down to Las Vegas or anything like that. Every dollar that we collect in this area stays in this area and gets put back into the program," Elko police Detective and Shop With a Cop spokesperson Cassie Barainca said.
"Every year we take the kids shopping at Walmart and they receive $200 to shop for whatever they want, whether they want to get toys for themselves or their families," she said. "And then we also provide them, typically, with a $100 gift card to a local grocery store for food for the family to help provide Christmas dinner."
She said the children selected would come from the surrounding areas, including "the outlying areas like Lander County, Owyhee, Jackpot, Wendover and then Elko and Spring Creek."
"But it's always 100 kids who are selected and then it just depends on the number of first responders and other helpers that we get," ," Barainca said.
"The kids, when they check in, they get brand new coats that have been donated, hats, gloves, all sorts of stuff. If we don't have any coats there that fit them, they can pick out a coat at Walmart and we'll get that. It doesn't come out of their $200 that we give them," she said.
Since the store will be full of over 200 participants in the program, Barainca said she recommends people do their Walmart shopping in the afternoon on the 14th.
"We're the longest-standing Shop With A Cop program in the state of Nevada. We've been doing it for 31 years. Every year, we get a lot of people who want to help out with us and want to donate their time and money. It's pretty cool to see the community come together for this program. A lot of people know about it," Barainca said.
"The event this year is going to be on Dec. 14. It's always the second Saturday in December. And I believe check-in is at 7:30 a.m. at Flag View Intermediate School."
After breakfast provided by McDonald's, the children will pair up with their first responders and take pictures with Santa Claus.
"About 9 a.m. is when we start the convoy from Flag View to Walmart. We're going to drive down Idaho Street and then up Mountain City Highway," Barainca said. Children will be able to ride in first responder vehicles such as fire engines, ambulances and police cars, even getting to blare their sirens.
"We always love it when people line the street and wave and encourage the kids who are in the vehicles. That's a huge part of the program and they really look forward to that. If people want to come out and support us that way, that would be great," Barainca said.
"We really appreciate the community support. And I'd really like to reiterate that every amount we get that's donated stays right here with our Shop With a Cop program," she added. "They can drop donations off at any local law enforcement agency" or send any donation amount to PO Box 522, Elko, NV 89803."
