Law enforcement officers from throughout Surry County gathered at the Mount Airy Walmart Saturday morning.
There mission was a little different than a normal Saturday — to give a kid a Christmas he or she might not otherwise have.
About 15 current or retired law enforcement officers donated their spare time to take 20 area children on a $150 shopping spree. Members of the Surry County Sheriff’s Department and the Mount Airy, Dobson, Pilot Mountain and Surry Community College Police Departments all suited up to take part in the event.
The local Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) charter sponsored the event, with the help of Walmart, Subway and many other local businesses.
Each child, and his or her assigned officer were given a $150 budget, $75 of which went to “needs” such as coats or shoes. The other $75 went to toys or whatever else a child might want, according to FOP president Kelly Hiatt, a retired Mount Airy officer who now works part time as a sheriff’s deputy.
Hiatt said a parent or guardian for each child fills out a form which identifies what the child might need and also any items a parent might not want the child to have.
According to Hiatt, the program, dubbed “Cops and Kids Christmas,” is more than two decades old.
For some officers who attended Saturday, the program has become an annual tradition, others participating for the first time said it will likely become an event they attend every year.
For Pilot Mountain officer Adam Livengood this year’s event was the first in which he had participated. Livengood has been in law enforcement for five years, with the latter two years spent in Pilot Mountain. He said he enjoyed his first Cops and Kids Christmas.
“It’s an awesome event,” Livengood proclaimed. “It makes me smile to see us giving a kid a Christmas.”
Mount Airy police Lt. G.E. Daughenbaugh is a bit of a veteran to the Christmas shopping event. He said he, his wife Shasta and daughter Taylor have been attending the event for about five years. He said he always looks forward to it.
“We’ve been doing it together for five years,” said Daughenbaugh. “It’s something we look forward to.”
For the officers, their families who help with the event and the children who might not otherwise have a Christmas, the event is an uplifting experience.
Following the 90-minute shopping period, officers and children sat down to a lunch supplied by Walmart and Subway.
At the end of the day, bellies were full, Christmas shopping complete and officers from throughout the county had forged important relationships with young members of the community.
