Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke shares the day with local children in the annual ‘Shop with a Cop’ day.

On Sat., Dec. 8, 2012, 75 children shopped for holiday gifts with Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., Sheriff’s deputies and officers from area law enforcement agencies for a day filled with the holiday spirit and giving.

Sheriff Clarke first became aware of the event while he was visiting family in Green Bay and he saw the nationally acclaimed “Shop with a Cop” program advertised in a local newspaper. The program builds positive relationships among law enforcement officers and young people in the community. In 2007, Sheriff Clarke started the program in Milwaukee County.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office reached out to the Milwaukee-area business

community and successfully secured funding for the program for its sixth year. Donations will allow children from the Boys and Girls Club, Neighborhood House, Hillside Family Resource Center, Frank Lloyd Wright School, and South Milwaukee Human Concerns to enjoy breakfast and a day of holiday shopping with a law enforcement officer.

Each child (ages 5-13) was paired with a law enforcement officer. They boarded a charter bus and went to the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel for a catered breakfast and then to Walmart. At Walmart, the children were able to purchase up to $100 worth of gifts for family members and themselves. After shopping, they went to the Pieper Boys & Girls Club where a volunteer team wrapped their gifts while the kids took pictures with Santa and enjoy pizza and entertainment provided by volunteers from American Enterprises International.

This year, Milwaukee County Sheriff’s deputies were joined by City of Milwaukee, Bayside, Fox Point, Hales Corners, South Milwaukee, Whitefish Bay and UWM police officers, along with officers from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Veterans Affairs Police, and Wisconsin State Fair Park Police.

“This is a great opportunity to make a child’s holiday a little brighter,” said Sheriff Clarke. “If we influence children early, we can forge a positive perception of law enforcement officers that will last a lifetime.”

The MCSO thanks all of the participating businesses and organizations for their monetary and in-kind donations which make this event possible: Jani-King, Sheraton Milwaukee-Brookfield, Walmart, Pepsi, American Enterprises, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, Go Riteway, Kubin Nicholson, McDonald’s, Neighborhood House, The Business Journal, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, and Distinctively Different Quartet.

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