Dec 16, 2024
Vienna Police Sgt. Fred Cochran, right, and his wife Sierra Cochran, center, watch Eden Dwyer, 5, left, place a toy in a cart during the Vienna Police’s Shop With A Cop Event at the Vienna Walmart Saturday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
VIENNA — Police officers pushing shopping carts and children giddy with the chance to buy toys was a common sight in the Mid-Ohio Valley this weekend.
The Vienna Police in conjunction with other agencies, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Marietta Police all hosted Shop With A Cop events this weekend.
The Fraternal Order of Police Blennerhassett Lodge 79 held its Shop With A Cop event at the Vienna Walmart Sunday morning and at the southside Parkersburg Walmart Sunday afternoon, according to volunteer Laurea Ellis.
Officers from the Vienna, Williamstown and Parkersburg Police, the Wood and Ritchie County Sheriff’s Offices, the West Virginia State Police and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources participated in the event, according to Vienna Police Detective and Lodge President Ryan Black.
Ellis said they screen children to determine if they are enrolled in Wood County Schools and give preference to children that have had a negative experience with law enforcement when choosing which children will participate in the event.
Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Tristan Talarico, center, plays with toy lightsabers with a child he is helping shop during a Shop With A Cop event Saturday at the Marietta Walmart. (Photo Provided)
The Lodge helped 103 children through its Shop With A Cop event — 53 children at the Vienna Walmart and 50 at the southside Parkersburg Walmart — Ellis said, and they were all elementary school-aged children.
The purpose of Shop With A Cop is to project a better image of law enforcement, according to Ellis.
“We couldn’t do this without Walmart,” she said.
Walmart provided snacks for the children, according to Ellis, and a stocking stuffed with toys and other treats.
“It’s just a community effort,” she said.
Marietta Police Patrolman Tip Griffin poses with two children with which he participated in Shop With A Cop Saturday morning at the Marietta Walmart. Each child received $250 to spend on toys of their choosing. (Photo Provided)
Children were paired with a police officer and they received $150 to shop for toys, whatever they wanted, she said.
“It’s all about the kids,” Ellis said.
Vienna pastor Nate Gibbons helped out at Shop With A Cop as Santa, entertaining the children with jokes and singing Christmas carols until it was their turn to go shopping.
Families that wanted their childrens’ toys wrapped after they were bought could get them wrapped during the event as well, according to Ellis.
Vienna resident Jeannie Davenport brought her daughter Alyssa Horner, 10, to the Shop With A Cop event. She said her landlord told her about the program and this is Horner’s fourth year participating.
Parkersburg resident Eden Wyer, 5, shows off a Bluey toy she chose as part of the Washington County Sheriff’s Shop With A Cop event Saturday. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)
“We’re low income,” she said. “It’s been a blessing.”
Horner’s said her favorite part of Shop With A Cop is “the toys” and Davenport said the event helps her family “greatly.”
Black has participated in Shop With A Cop for four years, since he moved back to his hometown of Vienna, and he said it is an incredible event.
“It’s an amazing way to give back to the community, especially kids,” he said.
He thanked all the donors, volunteers, law enforcement officers and their spouses and partners that helped make the event possible.
“The joy and the happiness that we bring to the children,” is Black’s favorite part of Shop With A Cop. “Seeing their faces light up … It’s awesome.”
Parkersburg resident Maria Conner and her niece, who she has custody of, Eden Wyer, 5, were at the Shop With A Cop event.
“I love it,” Conner said. “It helps out a lot because we were tight this year. It just really helps out a lot. I’m very thankful.”
Wyer was paired with Vienna Police Sgt. Fred Cochran and his wife Sierra Cochran.
Wyer said she was having “fun” while shopping and that she loved the reindeer antlers the children got to wear.
Wyer picked out a bike, a Bluey set and other toys. Her favorite item was the “Minnie Mouse toy” she picked, she said.
“This is awesome,” Sgt. Cochran said after helping Wyer shop. “It’s good to see the kids get to enjoy it.”
“I just love little kids,” Sierra Cochran said. She agreed with Sgt. Cochran that the event was “awesome.”
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office held a Shop With A Cop event Saturday morning at the Marietta Walmart, according to Sgt. Mark Johnson.
They helped approximately 21 children, according to Johnson, and the children received $300 each to spend on toys. The Sheriff’s Office also helped the children get winter clothing like boots, hats and gloves.
The Fraternal Order of Police Gold Star Lodge 188 fundraised for the event and ran it, according to Johnson.
There is no application process for children to participate, he said, and most of the children who participate are recommended by their schools.
The Sheriff’s Office tries to help children who may not qualify for yearly help around Christmastime, he said.
Johnson and his wife helped a child shop.
“It’s great,” he said. “Part of the process is to let (children) see an officer in a good light … get a chance to maybe talk with them.”
He said he liked getting the chance to interact with children and the boy he helped shop chose Pikachu-related toys.
“We are seeing families that are very grateful,” he said. “(It) lets the kids see police officers in a different light because sometimes we have to go into houses and take parents away.”
The Marietta Police also held a Shop With A Cop event at the Marietta Walmart Saturday morning after the Washington County Sheriff’s event, according to Sgt. Tyson Estes.
The Marietta Police helped 20 children shop and gave them each $250 each for toys, according to Estes, and they also bought any children that didn’t have one a winter jacket, bedding and a Christmas tree with lights and decorations, he said.
The Fraternal Order of Police Pioneer Lodge 12 fundraised for the event and ran it, according to Estes, who is president of the lodge.
“It went really well this year,” Estes said. “All the kids were great. They were very, very appreciative. They had a great time.”
He said the children they helped ranged in age from 5 to their late teens.
Estes was paired with a 7-year-old girl, he said.
“She was a firecracker … I don’t have any girls,” Estes said. “It was great. She wanted fancy pajamas and things for her hair … and Barbie dolls, which I’ve never bought before, so it was fun.”
He said the Marietta Police hosts Shop With A Cop so that they can have interactions with children and show them that police officers are more than just law enforcement, they are members of the community.
The Marietta Police want to make sure “nobody wakes up and doesn’t have a tree and something to open for Christmas,” Estes said.
His favorite part of Shop With A Cop was seeing the little girl he helped be excited and seeing everybody, children and police officers, smiling.
“To just see a kid having a great day and knowing you’re responsible for it is awesome,” Estes said.
During the year his job “drains his battery … this (event), I get to get recharged,” he said.
Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentinel.com
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