The City of Batavia Police Department, Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, and the LeRoy Police Department participated in the annual “Shop with a Cop” event at Walmart in Batavia on Saturday morning.
30 children were selected with the help of School Resource Officers and School Officials. The children were provided with funds and their own personal Police Officer/Deputy to accompany them on a Christmas shopping trip while at Walmart. Walmart hosts and staffs this event each year and also provides funding through a grant from the Walmart Foundation Local Community Grants (walmart.org) along with goodie bags for each child.
“I want to acknowledge the hard work and effort put forth by our officers into organizing this event for the community and in particular Detective James DeFreze who does a tremendous job every year in putting this event together,” said Batavia Police Chief Shawn Heubusch.
“We are proud of the efforts of our department to have started this event 8 years ago and by partnering with the Le Roy Police Department and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, this has become a highly anticipated event in the community.”
The Batavia Police Benevolent Association and the Genesee County Deputy Sheriff’s Association also raised additional funds to allow more children to participate to increase the amount each child is provided, and to lessen other costs associated with the event. Any excess funds raised this year through these two organizations will be designated for next year’s event.
Donations have been received from Wal-Mart, H.E. Turner & Company, Inc., the Batavia Police Benevolent Association, Civil Service Employee Association (CSEA), the Bonarigo and McCutcheon law office, and other members of the community.
