Shop with a First Responder
Several firetrucks and law enforcement cruisers arrived at Walmart on Saturday, December 21. There was no emergency, only a host of excited children.
The second annual Shop with a First Responder event took place this weekend, and families met at the fire station for a breakfast of Hardees biscuits before traveling to Walmart to pick out gifts for themselves and their families.
“If we could get the community involved, it could be really big,” said Mayor Tim Varnadore.
The goal last year was to raise enough money for 15 kids, but the expectation has grown exponentially in a short span of time.
Pastor Tim Carlson said he was blown away by the selfless nature of children buying gifts not only for themselves, but for their families. “If they feel led to do that, we don’t want to steal that heart from them,” said Carlson.
The Shop With a Cop program takes place nationwide during the holiday season. The Baxley program has grown so big so quickly that it now includes firefighters, EMTs, game wardens, and correctional officers.
The local event is inspired by the book of Matthew chapter 25, which reads ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me… ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
New clothes, stuffed animals, and action figures filled most of the shopping carts. However, many of the big kids sprung for bigger toys like BB guns and bikes. The Grinch even made an appearance near the toy aisle, but could do little to steal the Christmas spirit.
