Ready to shop

MOSES LAKE — The Shop with a Cop program got a boost Wednesday and another Thursday. 

Wednesday evening the Columbia Basin Eagles Auxiliary presented the Grant County Sheriff’s Office with a check for $500. 

“Shop with a Cop really helps the community to build relationships between law enforcement and the community,” said Lena Young, a trustee with the Eagles Auxiliary. “(It brings) our young generation together to shed a different light on what law enforcement is.” 

“That was one that we were not even expecting to come in,” said Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete. “What a great surprise … When you get a donation like that from an auxiliary group, it's just unbelievable.” 

The money was raised primarily through the Auxiliary’s Thursday night dinners, Young said, and took about a month to come up with. The Auxiliary chooses a cause to donate to about once a month.  

“It's always a struggle this time of year,” she said. “So, if we, as the Eagles Auxiliary, can give back to the community, I think that's very important.” 

Thursday night’s Tip-a-Cop, a collaboration between the GCSO and the Moses Lake Police Department, brought in a pretty sizable haul, Kriete said. Officers and deputies poured drinks and waited tables at Rock Top Burgers & Brew in Moses Lake to raise money for the program. The night yielded more than $5,000 in cash alone, Kriete said, and the electronic payments still hadn’t been totaled up yet as of Friday morning. 

The annual Shop with a Cop event pairs law enforcement officers with children in need every year. Each child is given a gift card and, accompanied by an officer, goes shopping at Walmart for presents. The event is spearheaded in Moses Lake by the GCSO and MLPD, but Kriete said it’s gone beyond just the two agencies. 

“We're able to help support our smaller entities,” Kriete said. “The Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State Patrol, even some of our fire districts are now getting involved. So we've really been able to grow over the years to give back to so many more families … It’s not necessarily Shop with a Cop anymore. You get to shop with a firefighter too.” 

Kriete said he’s always been impressed that the young people who shop with officers often put their family members above themselves, buying presents for their parents and siblings first, or even food for holiday meals. 

The sheriff wasn’t sure how many families would be selected to Shop with a Cop, but so many deputies look forward to shopping duty that they’ve had to divvy it up. 

“Boy, I'll tell you, there is a demand,” Kriete said. “People want to do it so much … We have people out of the woodwork wanting to come do it. We'll double and sometimes triple our deputies up with people, just so they can be involved with it.” 

The officers and deputies donate their off-the-clock time for the event, Kriete added; none of it is taxpayer-funded. 

The date of Shop with a Cop is generally not released to the public until it’s over, Kriete said, to prevent crowds of spectators from forming. Donations are accepted through Dec. 15 and may be made at the MLPD and GCSO offices or by stopping by the Columbia Basin Foundation’s Ephrata office. Quincy, Othello, Soap Lake and several other area agencies have their own Shop with a Cop programs that are still collecting donations as well.

“I just get so humbled by how much giving is in our community for others,” he said. “That's one thing I didn't realize before I became sheriff, how giving everybody is in our in our community. Especially this time of year, sometimes times are tough with people (and) they really just dig deep and they give to people like I've never seen. It's just awesome.” 

    Grant County Sheriff’s Deputy Gaven Allison and his shopping buddy Maxtin shop for toys at last year’s Shop with a Cop in Moses Lake. The date of this year’s event hasn’t been announced yet, but the GCSO and Moses Lake Police Department have raised more than $5,500 already for the event, with more funds still being counted.