Shop with a Kid in its 27th year

By Anne Eickstadt

ANNE EICKSTADT PHOTO Belvidere Republican
Firefighters Greg Pavalatos, Nic Thornton (with pieces of tape on each of his fingers), and Dan Drall team up wrap gifts for the Shop with a Kid event at Walmart.

Editor

Better known as ‘Shop with a Cop’ this event has become far more than that. The Police and Sheriff’s Departments, the Belvidere Fire and the Boone County Fire Departments participate as well. They all had the opportunity to Shop with a Kid.

All 11 grade schools in Boone County submitted the names of several kids to join the law enforcement officers and firefighters for this event. This year’s 40 kids who participated were paired up with a LEO or FF buddy and allotted an amount of money to spend on their family members for Christmas. Then the fun began.

On Saturday, Dec. 8, everyone gathered between 7:30 and 8 a.m. at the Belvidere Walmart, 2101 Gateway Center Dr. After the buddies conferred, they scattered around the store and each child had the opportunity to pick out gifts. The adult buddy steered the child in the right direction and kept them on track although was up to the child as to who they wanted to shop for and what they wanted to buy. The buddies had until 9 a.m. to find just the right presents. When they were satisfied with their choices, they brought their gifts to volunteers at the back of the store who wrapped the presents for them.

By the end of the event, the gifts were ready for…

For complete article, pick up the Dec. 13 Belvidere Republican.