(KNSI) – Students around the St. Cloud area got a special personal shopper during Thursday night’s Shop With A Cop event.
Jake Judd/KNSI News
The St. Cloud and Waite Park Police Departments were joined by members of the Minnesota State Patrol and Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officers at the Walmart on 2nd Street South in St. Cloud. Sergeant Greg Klinefelter explained part of the reason they do it. “We want to be able to show them a different side of us from what they probably have heard or have seen on TV or through social media.”
He says this program helps them build relationships with young people and shows them they can be trusted like teachers.
District 742 Superintendent Dr. Laurie Putnam was on hand to help wrap presents and told KNSI News the program allows kids to experience the joy of giving to their whole family during the holidays. “Many of our students, when they go to shop, are choosing things that are necessities, not luxuries. And that speaks to the need and the generosity of our students that they’re wanting to put mom first or dad first and in a way that they couldn’t.”
Jake Judd/KNSI News
Organizers say around 20 officers were on hand to take 40 kids shopping. Each family filled out a list to help the young shoppers and officers know how many people to pick up presents for and to find the right stuff. Each child had a budget they needed to stay under. The program is paid for by fundraisers put on by the local police departments.
The Sauk Rapids and Sartell Police Departments also went shopping on Thursday. The two departments helped a group of kids at the Walmart in Sartell.
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