Dec 21, 2024
Noah Johnson Daily Press A young girl greets a jolly Santa as he and local law enforcement deliver presents to her home.
ESCANABA — Local law enforcement officers spent Friday spreading holiday cheer with the culmination of Shop with a Cop, even bringing two special guests along the way.
Through the program, 59 kids were taken shopping for the holiday.
“Today, we are delivering gifts to kids that went shopping for Shop with a Cop in the elementary schools,” said Escanaba Public Safety Detective Sergeant Tabitha Turnacliff.
Law enforcement, Santa, and even the Grinch visited nearly 20 homes to bring toys and food to families.
Santa rode in a fire truck while the Grinch was close behind in the rescue truck.
“Santa will give the bag of gifts that the child had selected when they went shopping at Walmart, and the Grinch will typically try to steal the bag once in a while,” Turnacliff explained.
Luckily, Turnacliff and company had handcuffs ready to go should the Grinch try to steal the family’s presents.
The kids’ faces lit up when they saw the parade of officers and others rolling up with their lights, sirens, and Santa riding shotgun.
Turnacliff said law enforcement started delivering gifts in 2020 and plans to continue doing so each year.
“We started this back in COVID time when we weren’t really doing a lot, but we still wanted to maintain that connection with people, and doing the Shop with a Cop event is just a huge thing for us to meet with kids and they can see us having fun with them,” Turnacliff said.
She added that the program is a great way to visit the community without being at their residences for another reason.
“To see the excitement on their faces when they see Santa and the Grinch show up; It’s just amazing,” she said.
Delta County Deputy Josh Simmons said he found that the kids don’t just want to shop for themselves, but they want to spread the joy.
“It’s always cool to see all these kids want to shop for everybody but themselves. There’s just a lot of caring kids, and this year we were able to help 59 kids or bring joy to their Christmas,” Simmons said.
The program is a joint effort across multiple agencies in the county and local businesses.
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Turnacliff said several businesses donated to the cause, and the Delta County Sheriff’s Office managed the funds.
In addition to the toys, Skradski Funeral Home provided each residence with ham, potatoes, rolls, and other treats.
“Today, we’re just out to have fun, and let the community see us in a different light and start the holiday season. We love this every year,” Turnacliff said.
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