Generous cops make holiday special

CELINA - About 14 Mercer County families received some extra help making Christmas special this year thanks to the Shop with a Cop program.

On Saturday morning, parents and children gathered at the Celina Walmart along with about 20 members of law enforcement from the Mercer County Sheriff's Office and Celina, Fort Recovery, Coldwater and St. Henry police departments. Families were paired with an officer or two, and after introductions were made, they set out into the store together. As families fanned out, officers tagged along, helping them decide on anything from clothes and shoes to toys and movies.

Shop with a Cop is an annual event, and is funded through donations from the community, Celina police chief Tom Wale explained. Each year, CALL Ministries selects a number of families in need from within Mercer County and nominates them to participate in the Shop with a Cop Program.

CALL Ministries knows best who in the county is most in need of help, Wale said. Along with operating a food and clothing pantry, they also organize other programs, including a backpack program that gives qualifying students in need bags full of food to keep them fed when they're not in school.

Each family generally gets about $100 to spend on assorted gifts, provided by donations handled by the Grand Lake Law Enforcement Association. This year, the program had received generous donations from associations like the Eagles, American Legion and Midwestern Ohio Realtors, Wale said.

And, of course, numerous individuals in the community also help make the annual event possible, too. As officers and families were still gathering at the Walmart Saturday, a man who was familiar with the program and apparently taken by the giving spirit of the holidays approached to make a $50 donation - something that will doubtless help ensure more families in need will get a helping hand for Christmas next year.