Shop with a Cop Brings Joy to Students and Vidalia PD
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Joy and excitement filled the air on December 21, as two Greater Vidalia Leadership Class members, the Vidalia Police Department, and Vidalia Walmart came together to give 20 students a Christmas shopping spree to celebrate the season.
Vidalia Police Chief James Jermon has spent several months trying to think of a way that all children could receive gifts at Christmas. “It was something that was weighing on me all year, and especially after Hurricane Helene,” he shared.
Jermon attempted applying for the Shop With A Cop grant through the Walmart Corporation, but was unable to secure the funding. He then reviewed the Department’s finances and asked city administration if he could use leftover funding from his budget for the project. “City Manager Josh Beck and Finance Director Shannon Renteria made it happen, and I’m so grateful to them for their help,” he remarked.
Jermon was not the only one who was thinking about the opportunity to give to these students, as Leadership Greater Vidalia Class of 2024 Members Amanda Higgins and Emily Hart were also interested in bringing the event to Vidalia. “We have to do a leadership project for our program, and Emily and I were trying to decide what we wanted to do. After a lot of brainstorming, I mentioned [the Shop with a Cop] program that we did back home [when I lived up North]. We reached out to Chief Jermon and he had been thinking about the program because he had heard of it but had never done it before,” Higgins explained.
After Jermon secured the funding, Higgins and Hart contacted J.D. Dickerson Primary School and Sally D. Meadows Elementary School, who selected 20 students to participate in the event.
On December 21, these students and their parents came to the Vidalia Walmart, where they were given a $100 budget to shop for any items they may want. “We all just wanted to be there to bless and give, but honestly, it was therapeutic to my officers,” Jermon emphasized. “The true blessing to see was that these young children were all in agreeance to buy things to give to someone else – either their parents or siblings. It was so moving to see.”
He said that one student even chose to use their money to give to the other members of the program, and even one of the officers and the Chief. “If the rest of kids have the mindset of the 20 kids that we shopped with, we are moving in the right direction [as a community]. It gives me goosebumps to think about how great and appreciative they were,” Jermon added.
Higgins and Hart also agreed that the event was a joy to be involved with, as they described it as being “the sweetest morning.”
Jermon, Higgins, and Hart all shared their gratitude to the Vidalia Walmart, as they said that the store had refreshments for all involved with event, had Santa Claus greet the children, gave the participants stockings with goodies, and delegated a single register to the participants’ checking in and out. “We could not have done this without them,” Jermon said.
He continued, “I wish that feeling we had [during the event] was something that we could have bottled up and given to every home. It brought good cheer to everyone involved.”
When asked why he felt these events were important to connect the Police Department with the community, Jermon remarked, “I don’t want people to just see police officers writing tickets and arresting people and think that is all we are. We want to humanize the badge – to remind people that we are human, too, and have compassion.”
GIVING TO OTHERS – Many of the children participating in the Shop with a Cop program decided to use their $100 budget to buy gifts for others. (Shown) Lieutenant Shannon Martin shops with a child.
SHOP WITH A COP – Officer Skyler Jackson shops with a young student at Walmart on December 21.
