Miah Cole high-fives her grandma, Lisa Gist, as she walks to the front of Wal-Mart with a cart full of clothing and toys.
“This is awesome, sweetheart,” Lisa says as she checks out her granddaughter’s picks.
“Look at my onesie!” the excited 10-year-old says as she holds up a brightly colored one-piece pajama set.
“You got one and you wanted one. Oh, that is so sweet. That is so awesome sissy. You guys are awesome!” Gist says to Brown County Reserve Deputy Dan Owen and his wife, Shannon.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]On Dec. 1, 37 Brown County kids were paired with a police officer and a shopping assistant to spend $225 on clothes and toys. The only stipulation was that $175 of it had to be spent on clothes.
Lisa Gist, Miah, and her grandson, Jeremiah, posed for a photo with the deputies before shopping began.
“I am so excited, I can’t even speak. I’m at a loss for words,” Lisa said.
“It means the world to us,” added her husband, Lamar Gist.
Before the carts began rolling, Sgt. Bill Southerland, who helped to organize the event with his wife, Tammy, took a moment to thank the 17 volunteer officers and their 13 helpers, mostly spouses and significant others.
He told the officers to let the kids pick “whatever they want.” The kids were also able to pick out a new toothbrush and toothpaste that didn’t count in their total.
“They always want to plow through the clothes to get to the toys,” said Jerrica Shrader, pushing a cart behind her husband, Det. Brian Shrader and his shopping buddy, Jada Mitchell.
Mitchell’s father, Neal, was also helping them shop. “It means a lot. It goes to show you they care,” he said as he watched his daughter pick out clothes.
This is Jerrica’s second time volunteering and Brian’s ninth time.
“Knowing that they’re taken care of, that’s pretty important, I think,” he said.
“Something I always notice with these kids versus my own kids is they notice the price tags. It’s just a different perspective on life. They think they can’t afford it and we have to tell them you can get whatever you want. … It’s not every kid that is that way, but it’s happened in nine years.”
Jerrica enjoys seeing the looks on the children’s faces as they get to pick anything they want.
“They come in and they can’t believe how much they can actually get. Most of the time when you bring your kids to the store it’s, ‘You can get one thing.’ They’re like, ‘All of this?’” she said.
Once they make it to the toy section, Jada decides on a Fingerlings Hug Monkey toy, leaving her with about $25 to spend on toys.
“You can get a couple of other things or one big thing,” Brian explains to her.
After thinking for a moment, Jada decides she wants to find two “little things” to spend her remaining $25 on.
“This is when they spend the most time walking around,” Jerrica said with a smile.
This is the second year the Brown County Sheriff’s Department has done Shop With a Cop. “When Nashville Police said they were not going to do it anymore, we went to them and asked if they would mind if we picked it up and started doing it,” said Sheriff Scott Southerland.
The Fraternal Order Of Police Lodge No. 89 in Bartholomew County donates the money used in the program. Last year, the FOP gave $5,000.
A lot of their money comes from officers parking cars at the Bartholomew County Fair. Sheriff Southerland said that officers from Brown County will go over and help with parking, too; they are also members of the FOP.
As Shop With a Cop was happening in the Columbus Wal-Mart, a woman came up to the registration table asking how to donate. Bill Southerland told her to give her $20 bill to a member of the FOP seated at the table.
The anonymous donor said she had heard about Shop With a Cop for years, but this was the first time she had actually seen it in action.
“I think it’s a great idea. When I was younger we weren’t scared of the police; they were our friends, and it seems like a good way to keep that going,” she said.
Children who participate in the program are identified by their elementary schools. Each school refers 10 kids, and if those children have young siblings, they can go, too. The sheriff’s department also reached out to Brown County Intermediate School for recommendations.
After receiving referrals, Sheriff Southerland said calls are made to the families, asking them to participate. Only one family declined the invitation because they did not want their children shopping with police officers, he said.
Dispatchers, jail staff, deputies and reserve deputies all volunteer to be shopping buddies.
Afterward, milk and cookies were served at the Brown County Law Enforcement Center. Each child also had their photo taken with their cop and it will be framed for them.
“It gives them a good experience with a police officer, so if we ever have to do something with them down the road, they will remember that — maybe view us a little differently. We’re just people, like they are,” Sheriff Southerland said.
Over in the toy aisle, Miah’s younger brother, Jeremiah, was shopping with Sgt. Scott Bowling and his wife, Kim Cruser. In his cart were clothing items, some Minecraft figurines and Pokemon cards.
“He’s doing good at the math,” Cruser said.
“Get to shopping, dude. We have money to spend,” she says to the 9-year-old who smiles back at her.
The two enjoy looking at different Minecraft figurines and Lego sets trying to figure out “backup toys,” because Jeremiah wasn’t sure if his grandpa would let him have a toy that came with a gun.
“Everything he picks up, he likes,” Bowling added.
This was Bowling’s first time being able to volunteer with Shop With a Cop; he had been on road duty the other times.
It was Deputy Chad Williams’ first time volunteering too, along with his wife, Nichole.
“It’s rewarding to be able to help kids in need. I love it,” Williams said. “It seems like when they’re going through clothes, it’s like, ‘Eh, I like that. I like that,’ but when they get to toys, they’re like, ‘I want this, I want this.’ They get real excited.”
Back in the toy aisle, Miah Cole looked at her full cart. “I’m going all out. This is crazy. I think it’s amazing,” she said.
Dan Owen also made her an honorary deputy for the day and she had the sticker badge to prove it.
“We told her not to arrest anybody, and she said, ‘Not if I don’t have to,’” his wife, Shannon, said with a laugh.
Dan Owen said they love helping the kids and families in the county. “I grew up in a similar situation and had opportunities to stand in line for free cheese back in the day, so it’s a nice chance to give back, and it’s neat to work with a lot of the community partners who actually help fund it,” he said.
One of those community partners is Sugar Creek Barbecue Company in Gnaw Bone, which donated more than $1,000 to FOP for this program, Owen said.
Sheriff Southerland and dispatcher Deanna Nicley were helping a 10-year-old girl shop toward the end. It was Nicley’s second year of volunteering.
“We get to see the smiles on their faces when they get up to the checkout and see how many bags they have,” she said, pushing a cart full of bright-colored girls’ clothes to the toy section.
“The last little boy kept saying, ‘Do I have too much? My mom told me not to ask for everything,’” Nicley continued with a laugh.
The girl’s grandmother was helping with the shopping, too. “She is not used to this, being able to pick out whatever she wants,” she said to the sheriff.
His response was simple: “That’s what it’s all about — and being able to hang out with us.”
