WPD, BK, Meijer Team Up For ‘Hero’ Event
December 9, 2021 at 2:58 a.m.
WPD, BK, Meijer Team Up For ‘Hero’ Event
By David [email protected]
The annual “Shop with a Hero” started with dinner at Burger King at 6 p.m. Wednesday and included a visit from Santa Claus. That was followed by officers and their families taking the children shopping at Meijer for toys, clothes, gloves and even shoes.
While at Burger King, Roy Navarro, WPD, said, “We bring our families in and they get a chance to have a meal with us police officers. And then here, in a few minutes, we’ll take off to Meijer and do our ‘Shop with a Hero’ event.”
He said each kid is allotted an amount of money to spend at Meijer.
“2013 is when we had our first one for Warsaw. This is my seventh year doing it as an officer for Warsaw, so we’ve been doing this a little bit here. It’s been pretty fun,” Navarro said.
He said they had a total of eight children, but not all of them were able to make it. Schools help determine which children participate in the “Shop with a Hero” event.
“The school takes a look at a lot of the families’ needs. I know Warsaw, the principals look at giving gift boxes to a lot of families to keep them fed through their Christmas break. And then we take a look at the next element, which is who needs Christmas presents and who needs to have a local little help with Christmas. That’s when we kind of come into the game and just let them know we can bring their family in and let the kids do a little shopping and have a good time,” he said.
A total of 10 WPD officers participated this year in the event.
“I think one of the most fun things to do is, when they get that cart and they’re riding down the aisles at Meijer, and the kid is just baffled that they’ve got money to spend, I think it’s just really, really fun to watch,” Navarro said. “It’s a good time to see and it makes you feel pretty good about what our community does. It’s always really nice.”
Meijer funds the shopping portion of the event, while Burger King provides the dinner part.
“We get the opportunity to put this into motion for them. That’s really nice,” Navarro said. “This is going to be another fun night, and the kids really enjoy the time and our families.”
The annual “Shop with a Hero” started with dinner at Burger King at 6 p.m. Wednesday and included a visit from Santa Claus. That was followed by officers and their families taking the children shopping at Meijer for toys, clothes, gloves and even shoes.
While at Burger King, Roy Navarro, WPD, said, “We bring our families in and they get a chance to have a meal with us police officers. And then here, in a few minutes, we’ll take off to Meijer and do our ‘Shop with a Hero’ event.”
He said each kid is allotted an amount of money to spend at Meijer.
“2013 is when we had our first one for Warsaw. This is my seventh year doing it as an officer for Warsaw, so we’ve been doing this a little bit here. It’s been pretty fun,” Navarro said.
He said they had a total of eight children, but not all of them were able to make it. Schools help determine which children participate in the “Shop with a Hero” event.
“The school takes a look at a lot of the families’ needs. I know Warsaw, the principals look at giving gift boxes to a lot of families to keep them fed through their Christmas break. And then we take a look at the next element, which is who needs Christmas presents and who needs to have a local little help with Christmas. That’s when we kind of come into the game and just let them know we can bring their family in and let the kids do a little shopping and have a good time,” he said.
A total of 10 WPD officers participated this year in the event.
“I think one of the most fun things to do is, when they get that cart and they’re riding down the aisles at Meijer, and the kid is just baffled that they’ve got money to spend, I think it’s just really, really fun to watch,” Navarro said. “It’s a good time to see and it makes you feel pretty good about what our community does. It’s always really nice.”
Meijer funds the shopping portion of the event, while Burger King provides the dinner part.
“We get the opportunity to put this into motion for them. That’s really nice,” Navarro said. “This is going to be another fun night, and the kids really enjoy the time and our families.”
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