Shop with a Cop: Foster youth treated to gift-buying spree

Christmas is known as a time of great joy but for many foster children, the holidays can be a struggle during an already difficult situation. To help infuse some of the season’s cheer into the lives of local foster youth this year, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office put on “Shop with a Cop” and the results had everyone involved grinning from ear to ear.

Shop with a Cop took place Sunday, Dec. 17, kicking off with a special breakfast hosted by Elks Lodge #2796.

“We had about 14 kids, all excited — and hungry!” Elks member Phyllis Howell detailed for the Pahrump Valley Times. She and three other members, including Charlene Brannon, Judy Brady and Fred Wilson, headed up the breakfast effort, which the Elks were very proud to sponsor.

“There were three parents, the sheriff, his administrator Tammy Engel and Annie Yager from DCFS at our breakfast, plus several deputies,” Howell said. “The kids and NCSO personnel were able to enjoy eggs, pancakes, bacon and juice and Santa also made a surprise visit. The officers were almost as excited as the kids. It was a noisy, rowdy group and the Christmas spirit was high. When they left to do their shopping, it was with lights blazing and sirens blaring!”

Leading the charge was Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill and the Shop with a Cop team consisted of Capt. Harry Means, Lt. William Gray, Sgt. Nick Augustine, Sgt. Theo Eisenloffel and deputies Josette Dubois, Giovanni Ruiz, David Stone and David Diaz. Also volunteering their time to the cause were NCSO Administrative Techs Julie Nicholson and Tammy David, along with Supervising Sheriff Administrator Tammy Engel.

Shop with a Cop is not a new concept, Engel explained, but in the past, it was a more broad event in which the deputies went to the local Walmart and simply picked children in the store to shop with.

“This is Sheriff McGill’s first year as sheriff and he is very focused on ‘community policing,’ being out in the community and showing residents that we care about them and we’re not just there to enforce the law,” Engel stated. “So we wanted to take a different approach with the event, we wanted to choose children who might have never had an opportunity like this and we chose foster children. Capt. Means worked with DCFS to select the foster children and they ranged from around 5 to 13 years old.”

The original budget for each child was $150 but Walmart jumped on board as well, granting every foster child with an additional $10 gift card. Engel said it was a delight to watch and assist as they all got to ring up the items they’d selected.

“And it was interesting to see what these kids picked out, too,” Engel remarked. “I had asked one little boy, ‘What was your favorite thing you got?’ And he pulls out this jewelry box with a black and blue cross and he put it right on! It was so sweet that out of his basket of toys, that was his favorite. And one little girl got probably about $100 worth of Christmas candy that she said she was going to share with everyone. It was just wonderful.”

Funding for Shop with a Cop came from several sources, with Engel noting that NextEra Energy was the primary donor. “NCSO personnel put money in as well and then, the most wonderful thing happened. While they were walking around in the store, people were handing the deputies money! I would never have expected that,” Engel enthused.

All in all, Shop with a Cop was a big success, bringing much merriment to area foster youth while simultaneously reinforcing a positive relationship between local law enforcement and the community.

“These kids sometimes have a negative experience with law enforcement, because of what’s going on with their family situations and this just shows that cops are not all bad. It helps build that positive community relationship, which is really big for Sheriff McGill,” Engel concluded.

Anyone interested in donating to next year’s Shop with a Cop effort can contact Engel at 775-277-0798.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com

Author’s note: The names and images of the foster children taking part in Shop with a Cop are withheld for privacy purposes.