Shop With A Cop begins fundraisers to assist kids

The Shop With A Cop program was officially kicked off on Saturday morning at the Sunset-C Sinclair.

Shop With a Cop will be held Dec. 1, and will include a McDonald's breakfast for the children who will be fed at West Elementary School, then a precession of emergency vehicles and other uniformed personnel will take the children to Wal-Mart where they will be given gift cards for a shopping spree to buy presents for family members.

With aid from Saturday's activity and other upcoming fundraisers, Shop With A Cop plans to have enough funding for 115 children.

Shop With A Cop

Saturday's event marked the first year Sunset C has kicked off the event. The Mountain Home Police Department and Pioneer Federal Credit Union are joint organizers for the year's program.

The event included a raffle, including a Dr. Pepper Bicycle. The tickets for the raffle have been sold since the beginning of the BSU football season. Local resident Ray Morgan won BSU home season tickets.

The event was led by manager Shelly Adams and co-organizer Alauna Nunez,

"It's an awesome cause, I just hope that we have a lot of people participating, to help the kids have a nice Christmas," said Adams.

"I think it's awesome, I hope it goes on for a long time," said Nunez.

Mountain Home Mayor-elect Tom Rist and city councilman-elect Geoff Schroeder were on hand for the festivities,

"This is a great event for the children, it will start the Christmas season off right," said Rist.

Rist acknowledged the police department's efforts,

"This is not something they are getting paid to do, this is for a cause that they all believe in."

"This is a great service the police department has put on for a number of years. Shop With A Cop has made a lasting impact on our youth," said Schroeder.

Pioneer Federal was represented by Mary Morin (Regional Manager) and Carla Hawk (Assistant Manager),

"We had a great turnout, we hope to increase the number of kids who will be able to shop," said Morin.

The police department's representation included members of the Citizens on Patrol, Sgt. Rick Viola (lead contact for the Department) and Officer Melanie Rhodes.

Rhodes praised the assistance the department has received from all over Mountain Home,

"It used to be just police. Now it's separate entities who want to volunteer their time to share with the kids."

Rhodes recognized her cadets from Teenage Law Enforcement who helped volunteer for the event, Kayla Ryan and Danielle Ramsey,

"It's a great thing we're doing. It's good for the kids," said Ryan.

"Shop With A Cop is a wonderful community program, I'm proud to be a part of it."

Viola describes the event as a help for needy children, and not just financially but from an emotional standpoint as well,

"We want to give these children a great Christmas and a defining experience with uniformed personnel."

Radio personality Monique of 1240 KMHI was in attendance broadcasting live, she was offering coupons from Subway, Thrifty Car Auto Sales and Dominos.

Mike Bradbury, was in attendance, with his exact replica of Disney's "Herbie The Love Bug." The car is one of four Volkswagon Beetles Bradbury and his wife own. Bradbury has owned "Herbie" for the last three years, and the vehicle was restored two years ago.

The car's distinguishing features included an identical paint job, (the paint L87 or "Acapulco") and the Idaho license plates which match the exact number, "OFP 857"

Bradbury will drive "Herbie" in the upcoming Christmas Parade,

"It's a big hit with the kids. They expect the car to do what the movie car does," said Bradbury.

Entertainment was provided by local magician Keone Valdez, who performed what he calls "close-up" magic for the crowd,

"This is a great event for the community, I would like to be more involved with the community."