On Saturday, December 16, Greenbelt Police Officers spent the morning shopping at Target with preselected students from Springhill Lake Elementary and Greenbelt Elementary schools for their annual Shop With A Cop event. They met at Target at 8:30 a.m. and kicked off the day with hot chocolate and cookies. The children were given a budget from which to purchase a gift for their parent, guardian or siblings, and the remainder for purchases for themselves.
After shopping, the children enjoyed a ride in police cruisers to the Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department with their lights and sirens on. At the firehouse they enjoyed a great lunch with officers and got some help wrapping up their gifts.
“Captain Gulledge along with his Community Action Team members spent a lot of time organizing and managing everything. Thanks to the sponsorship that we received, we were able to plan for 28 kids, and we hope to increase the number next year,” Public Information Officer Ricardo Dennis of the Greenbelt Police Department told the News Review. “Our officers were delighted to volunteer for this event. I believe they enjoyed it as much as the children did,” said Dennis.
The following organizations and individuals contributed to the event: American Legion Greenbelt Post 136, Beltway Plaza Mall, Franklin Park, Glen Oaks, Greenbelt Federal Credit Union, Greenbelt Labor Day Festival Committee, the Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad Ladies’ Auxiliary, Platinum Rollers Motorcycle Club, Target and some individual citizens.