Kent Police help brighten holidays for 43 kids at ‘Shop With A Cop’ event

This past Saturday, Dec.10, 2022, 30 Kent Police Department employees gathered at 6:30 a.m., at the East Hill Target, to welcome 43 children to their 9th annual Shop With A Cop event.

Each child was able to shop for Christmas with one or more Kent Police & Corrections Officers using money donated by City Staff and community members.

“This is hands down our most favorite event,” Kent Police said. “So much so, that many of our Officers have returned year after year, and their enthusiasm entices our brand-new Officers to join. Some Patrol Officers had just finished working all night, but just couldn’t stay away.”

This year the kids were able to meet Santa AND Mrs. Claus, (who helped to wrap) and were able to take home a few extra donated items to share with their families.

Police added:

“We encourage the kids to buy items for themselves, but so many of them are more worried about getting presents for their parents, siblings, and other special loved ones. We quite literally had to remind several of them to get at least one thing for themselves.

“We want to thank EVERYONE who donated this year. Your generosity allowed us to include more children than we had originally planned. This was directly due to your contributions.

“We also want to thank our event founder Mayor Ralph for her continued support, the staff at Target who really got into the event, KYFS for partnering with us and of course to Santa and Mrs. Claus!”

Below are photos from the event, courtesy Kent Police:

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