December 12th, 2020

JOINT PRESS RELEASE – Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office/Idaho Falls Police Department

RE: Shop With A Cop

     This morning Law Enforcement Officers from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, and Idaho State Probation and Parole teamed up to make special Christmas deliveries to 21 Shop With A Cop kids in Bonneville County.  For the past 25 years, local Law Enforcement have teamed up with kids who have been exposed to abusive situations to help them shop for their families for Christmas.  Typically the event starts with breakfast and a parade of police cars across town with the kids in charge of the radio, lights and sirens, followed by the shopping and a visit from Santa.   This year however, due to current COVID-19 restrictions, adjustments had to be made for the safety and health of our participants in order to continue with this important tradition.

     Taking on the bulk of that adjustment were volunteers from the Ammon Target Store, Idaho Falls Civitans and the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center.  These volunteers gathered shopping lists and information about our 21 kid participants and their families and spent the past week doing the shopping in advance, wrapping presents, and assembling stocking and gift bags for the kids and their families, so the entire family could have Christmas presents under the tree.

     Following more than a month of preparation, individual teams of Officers, Target employees, and Civitans set out this morning with gifts in hand making deliveries to individual kids and their families all across Bonneville County, Idaho Falls, Ammon and Iona. Some of these excited kids got to explore the inside of cop cars, work the lights and sirens and have a photo opportunity at their homes with the Officers, despite the morning cold temperatures.  Even though this years event was more streamlined than others, the Christmas cheer and opportunity to build a positive bond with some great kids in our community still took place and made lasting memories.

     The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office and Idaho Falls Police Department would like to recognize key partners such as the Ammon Target Store, Idaho Falls Civitans, The Eagles Lodge, and the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center for their dedication and hard work year after year.  In addition, a vast amount of individuals, businesses, and organizations have made contributions year after year making it possible for your local Law Enforcement to have this positive interaction with these children and create long lasting Christmas memories.  For that we extend our humble thanks and appreciation for helping us to make a difference in the community we all live in.