Christmas is a magical time of year. Sipping hot cocoa, trimming the tree, and writing letters to Santa are holiday traditions we all enjoy. But getting the latest Barbie, Hot Wheels, or Squishmallows can be out of reach for many families.
Fortunately, on a frosty Saturday morning in December, Tulsa police officers will fill a local Walmart store with dozens of excited children from Celia Clinton Elementary to shop for their parents and siblings, all thanks to the Shop with a Cop program sponsored by the Rotary Club of Tulsa.
Tulsa Police Officer Joshua Metcalf has participated in the program every year since becoming a police officer. Being a father himself, the program holds a special place in his heart.
“Christmas Day is extremely important to me because it’s also my son’s birthday! Shop with a Cop is an amazing experience where volunteer Rotarians and members of the Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police meet with underserved children at a store to shop for their parents and siblings,” he says. “While the police officer and child shop for the child’s family members, a Rotarian is secretly shopping for the child. The Rotarian sneaks away to pick up a couple of special items for the child and then wraps all the presents and puts everything in a big bag, just in time for Christmas morning.”
In 2002, the Rotary Club of Tulsa introduced the annual outreach program for at-risk Tulsa children who may only have negative impressions of police officers. The organization reached out to Tulsa police officer Marcie Brannon of the Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police to help develop Shop with a Cop. Officer Brannon is now retired after 35 years of service but continues to coordinate the program.
She says, “Our hope is to brighten the holidays for children and their families by showing them a softer side of law enforcement that they may not have had a chance to see.”
The purpose of the program is to reach out to members of the community who may hesitate to engage with police officers on a regular basis. It allows children to gain positive experiences and create trust with law enforcement officials. It teaches children that police officers are regular people and are here to help.
Metcalf says, “This is an event I see myself doing for the rest of my career, and then hopefully when I retire, I will become the Rotarian that shops with a cop!”
For more information or to donate to Shop with a Cop, visit TulsaRotary.com.