Children and law enforcement, firefighters go Christmas shopping
Delia Miranda and her shopping buddy Dave DeLaRosa of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office look over the options in the doll aisle during the eighth annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ Wednesday.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
Delia Miranda and her shopping buddy Dave DeLaRosa of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office look over the options in the doll aisle during the eighth annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ Wednesday.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
Ulizes Hernandez (right) and his shopping buddy Travis Ruffin of the Moses Lake Police Department check the fit of a baseball glove for Ulizes during the eighth annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ Wednesday.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
Ulizes Hernandez (right) and his shopping buddy Travis Ruffin of the Moses Lake Police Department check the fit of a baseball glove for Ulizes during the eighth annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ Wednesday.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
Landon Fry (front) and his shopping buddies from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office pick out toys for Landon’s family during the eighth annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ Wednesday.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
Children and law enforcement, firefighters go Christmas shopping
MOSES LAKE — The kids who went shopping with the cops (and firefighters) arrived in style.
The kids rode into the Moses Lake Walmart parking lot in vehicles from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Moses Lake Police Department and Washington State Patrol, red and blue lights flashing, with engines from the Moses Lake Fire Department and Grant County Fire District No. 5 bringing up the rear. (Royal Slope fire personnel also participated.)
Santa was there too, coming in on a helicopter flown by a Life Flight crew.
This was the eighth year the Moses Lake Walmart has hosted Shop with a Cop, where kids go Christmas shopping for their families, and maybe a little for themselves. The money is provided by the sponsoring agency, and each child gets a shopping buddy, or two, and sometimes more.
The sheriff’s office sponsored 10 children for 2019, with the MLPD sponsoring 15, said GCSO deputy Derrick Gregg, the lead organizer. The program is supported through donations from the community and fundraisers sponsored by the agencies.
“It’s my favorite thing of the year,” Gregg said, a chance to give back to the community.
Delia Miranda was shopping for her two sisters, her mom and dad. “And me,” she said. She made a list of possible presents – but oops, she forgot it. It turned out she had most of her shopping list memorized, said her shopping buddy, GCSO deputy Dave DeLaRosa. And once she hit the ground Delia knew exactly where she wanted to go, leaving her family and her shopping buddy in her wake.
Landon Fry was shopping for “three sisters, one brother, me, a mom and a dad.” He didn’t come in with a plan. “I’m just going places,” he said, “getting what I see.”
It was DeLaRosa’s first assignment as a shopping buddy, and it was fun, he said. “A blast. I love it.”
Moses Lake officer Juan Rodriguez has been shopping before, and volunteered for another year. “It’s a lot of fun. To see all the kids, the smiles on their faces.” The kids are excited by things most people may take for granted, Rodriguez said. “Very rewarding, just to hang out with them for the day.”
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.
