Brentwood police officers turned a quiet Saturday morning into a full-on holiday field trip, pairing local kids with cops for the department’s annual Shop With a Cop outing and rolling up to Target with lights and sirens blaring. Before any carts started rolling, the kids sat down for breakfast with officers at Brentwood Cafe, then headed into the store to hunt for gifts within a modest budget. Target staff cheered them on, while a hot cocoa bar and goodie bags helped keep the sugar levels, and the spirits, high.
According to the City of Brentwood Police Department, every child was paired one-on-one with an officer, and the group’s arrival at Target was announced with lights and sirens. The department notes that the Brentwood Police Activities League and community partners helped put the event together, and that Target team members greeted the kids and officers with cheers and treats as they walked in.
Students And Volunteers Helped Wrap Gifts
Leadership students at Edna Hill Middle School handled the behind-the-scenes work, helping prepare and wrap the presents before the big shopping trip, the school’s live feed reports. School staff publicly thanked Brentwood PD and volunteers for teaming up on the effort that brought some extra holiday cheer to several local families.
How The Program Is Funded
The one-day event is run by the Brentwood Police Activities League and is funded in part by the group’s annual Tamale Festival, along with donations from community partners, according to local coverage by Contra Costa News. Organizers say proceeds from that festival and other fundraisers help make the Shop With a Cop day happen each December.
A Long-Running Local Tradition
Brentwood’s Shop With a Cop has been a staple in community calendars and local coverage for years, often kicking off with breakfast at Brentwood Cafe and a lights-and-sirens escort to Target before the shopping begins, as reported by East County Today. Outlets that have followed the program over time point to its twin goals of providing some holiday help and building positive ties between officers and local youth.
Photos shared by the department show kids lugging shopping bags and smiling beside officers and volunteers, a snapshot organizers say captures what they are aiming for: giving children a dose of holiday normalcy and a morning they will want to brag about when they get back to school. In its Facebook post, the department thanked volunteers, Edna Hill students and Target staff for pulling the whole thing off.
