The smiles stretched from ear to ear and eyes lit up Saturday as keiki paired with Hawaii County Police Department officers spent the morning shopping together for Christmas gifts. ADVERTISING The smiles stretched from ear to ear and eyes lit
The smiles stretched from ear to ear and eyes lit up Saturday as keiki paired with Hawaii County Police Department officers spent the morning shopping together for Christmas gifts.
“I found it, I love it,” exclaimed 7-year-old Wendell Doran as he jumped into the air after catching sight of a toy bowling set for himself in the Kona Kmart’s toy section. “I want to make strikes.”
Excited, Wendell put the toy set in his shopping cart next to a play wrestling championship belt. But, he then had a decision to make when Hawaii County Police Department Officer Robin Crusat Sr. reminded him of his $30 budget. After some wavering, even putting one toy back before going to retrieve it after changing his mind, he made the decision to get the bowling set for a special reason.
Wendell said he plans to teach his little brother, Kyle, how to bowl too with the gift made possible through Shop With A Cop, a partnership between the Hawaii County Police Department and Kmart.
“I want to teach him because I’m a bowler,” he said, adding that he enjoys bowling at KBXtreme in Kailua-Kona.
Wendell, who also selected another toy to enjoy with his brother as well as a wrestling action figure, was just one of 40 boys and girls who took part in this year’s event.
From toys for themselves to gifts for parents, family and friends, as well as the occasional small box of chocolates or a drawing for the officers, the boys and girls savored the opportunity to hang out, talk story and shop with the men and women in blue. Some 15 officers donning full the Hawaii County Police Department uniform participated in this year’s Shop With A Cop event.
The program, now in at least its 17th year at the Kona Kmart, gives needy children a chance to buy presents for loved ones while building relationships with law enforcement personnel, said Catholic Charities Hawaii Program Director Erin Basque.
“A lot of the times kids are afraid of police officers,” said Community Policing Officer Ellsworth Fontes Jr., explaining that sometimes that is the result of perhaps adults saying to children that police will come if they are bad or children having a negative experience when an officer came to their home or another incident. “This shows them we are their friend we are there to help.”
The keiki and their family on Saturday were first treated to breakfast and Santa photos before each child received a $30 gift card for shopping sponsored by Coca Cola and Pepsi, said Kmart Store Manager Robert O’Meara. Each child also received a bag of goodies and snacks.
Many of the officers without hesitation also pulled out their own wallets at the register to supplement the gift cards.
The boys and girls, ranging in age from 4 to 14, were preselected by Catholic Charities Hawaii, said Basque. All of the 40 kids reside in the North and South Kona districts and come from a variety of backgrounds including foster care, transitional housing and disadvantaged homes, she said.
Nine-year-old Anaya Hooper bought something extra special with her gift card for this Christmas — three matching rings engraved with the Hawaiian word “kuuipo,” or sweetheart. One is for herself, one is for her mother, and the last one is for her stepmother, she said.
“They do a lot of stuff for me,” Hooper said about why she wanted the matching set.
