'Shop With a Cop' fulfills Christmas wishes

by Nora Gathings (hsgathings@wsbt.com)

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Diamond Crawford and her brother Sidney Jefferies shopped for Christmas presents at Meijer with Sgt. Matt Blank of the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department, as part of the annual Shop with a Cop program. (WSBT photo)

By WSBT News1

Story Created: Dec 6, 2007 at 10:36 PM EST

Story Updated: Jan 28, 2008 at 3:57 PM EST

(WSBT) Some St. Joseph County officers helped Christmas come early Thursday night. They volunteered to take 15 kids shopping for toys as part of the annual Shop With a Cop.

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Many of these kids and their mothers are escaping abuse and trying to get back on their feet, so Christmas isn't very affordable.

Eagle Lodge 435 and R&B Car Company donated $3,000 to cover the shopping bill.

And it allowed their Christmas wishes to be fulfilled.

Thursday night, Diamond Crawford, her brother Sidney Jefferies, and 13 other YWCA kids met Santa at Burger King on Grape Road.

But the real Santas were dressed in brown uniforms.

"I have kids of my own. I see how much they enjoy Christmas morning and opening their gifts and things like that. It bothers me there are kids out there that don't get to enjoy that, that don't have an opportunity to open gifts on Christmas morning," said Sgt. Matt Blank.

Sgt. Blank tried to keep up with Sidney and Diamond as they rushed from one side of Meijer to the other.

"A lot of times these kids see police officers on the street and in their homes and it's not always a good thing, so we like to change that perception," said Sgt. Blank.

He was checking to see if the toys were appropriate while also making sure they had the essentials.

"Do you have boots for the winter?" asked Sgt. Blank.

He even helped them pick something special for their mother.

"You want them to have the idea of Christmas, not just toys, but get into that spirit of giving," said Sgt. Blank.

"I think she'll like the heart," said Sidney, who chose a necklace for his mother.

"That's a good idea," said Sgt. Blank.

In the end, everyone got what they wanted -- Sidney and Diamond had a cart full of toys and the officers had made a lasting impression on Sidney, who wants to be a cop.

If you would like to help out other families, you can go to the YWCA's website at www.ywcasjc.org. You can make an online donation or find a list of gifts that can be purchased and dropped off.

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