The annual Shop with a Cop night was recently held for the fifth year by officers of the Jersey City police department.
A gift card of $100 was given to over 60 children who were paired with a personal escort from the department to shop at the Newport Centre Mall. All the police officers had worked a full shift and joined the children of their own accord to give back to the community. One of the goals of the evening was to build relationships between the department and the community.
Jersey City Police Officer Frankie Marto commented that seeing the children’s smiles is priceless and is the reason the officers take this one evening a year to do participate in this event. When the children are unable to select exactly $100 worth of gifts, the officers make monetary contributions to make up the difference.
Some children were clever enough to find items for themselves, their siblings, and friends and then buy new items needed for school. The officers helped them to manage their expenses.
The East District Public School district works with the police department to determine those children who would benefit most from the shopping experience.
Displays can be created by poster printing companies so that people learn more about such efforts to give back to the community.
