ASHLAND – Kids and families left Ashland’s Walmart with full carts and full hearts Sunday during the annual Shop With a Cop event.
Sisters Ava and Araya were excited to choose stuffed animals, Legos, baby dolls and PAW Patrol toys– Christmas gifts their mother, Judy McDonough, and her fiance, Michael Whyel, wouldn’t have been able to purchase if not for the program.
“We weren’t able to buy for them this year because we were staying in a homeless shelter and we just got our own place, so this definitely helped out,” McDonough said. “Now they’ll have actual gifts to open.”
The girls were among more than 260 kids who will have a brighter holiday season this year, thanks to Shop With a Cop. School liaisons in districts throughout Ashland County refer kids and families for the program based on need.
Now over 15 years running, Ashland’s Shop With a Cop is organized by Ashland Police Detective Kim Mager and executed with help from law enforcement officers and first responders from various agencies. Mager said she believed every agency in the county was represented among the volunteers who shopped with the families this year.
The program was able to offer each child $125 to spend on toys and clothes for him or herself this year, up from $100 last year, as well as $10 to spend on a toy to donate to a child in need.
The extra funding came from increased community support including donations from individuals, organizations and businesses as well money raised through the Ashland Downtown Dream Cruise and Car Show and the annual Shop With a Cop Benefit Auction at O’Bryans. The Ashland Eagles Club, Simonson Construction and Loudonville NHS all donated this year, Mager said.
In addition, Denny’s donated $20 gift cards for every child so each family could at at the restaurant, and Burger King donated a kids meal for every child.
Walmart sponsored some children, increased their staffing level to accommodate the extra shoppers and supplied cookies and punch for all the families as they waited for their turn to shop. Kids also had a chance to visit with Santa and with two therapy dogs provided by the Sheriff’s Office.
“The whole program has just taken on a life of its own,” Mager said.
The idea behind Shop With a Cop is not only to help families in need but also to foster positive interactions between officers and the public.
Mager said she was able to have a conversation Sunday with a 14-year-old boy who was so afraid of police, he was shaking.
“He doesn’t know any police officers, he just knows what he sees on TV,” she said. “I’m happy to demonstrate that it’s not what you see on TV. This is what we do.”
For Mager, Shop with a Cop is always one of the best days of the year. But after a challenging 2018, this year’s event was extra special.
“We have had a couple huge cases that struck the community that could almost paralyze a community, and we didn’t let that happen to us,” Mager said. “For me personally, between the Shawn Grate trial and losing my dad, this is a highlight.”
And Mager isn’t the only officer who looks forward to Shop With a Cop.
Mager said she didn’t even have to put out a sign-up sheet at Ashland Police Department this year. Instead, staff were calling her to ask how and when they could help.
Among the volunteers was Angel Fowler, secretary for the detective bureau. Fowler has taken part in the program 11 of the past 12 years.
“It’s my favorite day,” Fowler said. “I love watching the kids’ reactions when they go shopping and when they donate gifts. I’ve seen kids buy things for their parents.”
“Just to see the joy these kids experience that otherwise they may not have, it’s just very heartwarming.”
Another of this year’s volunteers was Mager’s daughter, Macy. Mager was thrilled.
“I enjoy demonstrating for my children that it’s not about what we do for ourselves. It’s about what we do for others… You can talk and talk and talk, but I think the only way for people to see that is to watch it in action, watch them demonstrate it,” Mager said.
