ASHLAND — Hundreds of families formed a massive line at Ashland’s Walmart on Sunday, waiting for an opportunity for their kids to shop with a first responder, free of charge.
When they reached the end of the line, Ashland Police Division Detective Kara Pearce, while sporting a pair of reindeer antlers, came clean about a happy mistake she’d made.
On the paperwork for 2022’s “Shop With A Cop,” families were told they would receive $100 to buy toys for their children. But as it turned out, each family ended up getting $150 to spend for themselves and $10 to buy a toy to donate, Pearce said.
“Some kids buy toys for themselves, some kids buy necessities, clothes, shoes, basic hygiene stuff. Some kids don’t spend the money on themselves and they buy presents for other people,” Pearce said.
“Actually today one of the kids donated some of his money that he was getting to buy a better toy for the Toys for Tots.”
There were 259 children registered for Sunday’s event, the most they have ever seen, Pearce said. Police officers and firefighters from 10 to 15 agencies showed up to escort these little shoppers around the store.
Sunday’s massive turnout was a result of the organizers removing some of the age restrictions on the event, giving a lot more kids a chance to shop, Pearce said.
The money for Shop with a Cop comes from fundraisers throughout the year like the Ashland Downtown Dream Cruise and Car Show, the Shop with a Cop silent auction, and the Mohican Haunted Schoolhouse.
One shopper, Stormey Bartoe, said she brought her 6-year-old son Jax to the event because he wants to be a cop when he grows up and he wanted a karaoke machine.
“I just bought this for fun because singing is fun, get it?” Jax said.
