BLAINE, Minn., — (Dec. 19, 2013) — During the holiday season, you can easily find young smiling faces strolling the aisles of Target. Officer Michelle Moore explained why this time, there’s a special reason behind their holiday cheer. “Well today, we are here at Target for heroes and helpers, used to be called shop with a cop, but this year, they have included fire fighters so I’m really excited about this opportunity,” Moore said. “Target has donated $2,000 to this program, and these kids are so excited.”
Heroes and Helpers is designed to provide students in need with an opportunity to shop for presents with a fire fighter or police officer. Moore said students are chosen by school social workers who are able to identify the kids in need most. “Each student that is shopping here today is picked up at their school by either an officer or a fire fighter and, this program serves 30 children in six elementary schools in the city of Blaine in three different school districts,” she said.
Moore explained that the program also makes sure that the kids are able to buy more than just presents. “We’ve set aside about $350 just specifically for necessity type items like food, clothing, boots, jackets, all of those types of things,” she said. “So the kids don’t have to take those off of their Christmas list, that they can utilize the $105 that they’re receiving to spend on their family and friends.”
The trip not only provides joy to the children, but brings joy to the officers as well. Moore feels the students are able to interact with the officers in a way that they’re typically not seen. “It’s so wonderful for us to be able to connect with these kids in a way that is positive; that they get to see us in this positive light, that we’re not coming to their house because of something bad,” she said. “We’re not taking them or their parents out of the home, we’re not responding to a domestic, we get to be real with them, and form a bond and a connection which you can’t put a price tag on.”
The program takes many contributors to make it happen, and Officer Moore assures us the collective effort certainly does not go unnoticed. “I just am so appreciative of all the generosity across the board from our community, from our officers, from our fire fighters and that everybody has participated and donated, be it volunteer time or monetary, it touches my heart every year and I know it touches the kids,” she said.
Heroes and Helpers is one of many ways to keep those young faces smiling. Moore thinks it’s a great reminder that you don’t have to look far to give back. “Right here in our community there is need everyday, everyday,” she said. “I think sometimes we don’t see that because we look at our community and we see all of what we have. We see the lakes, or we see all of the amenities that we have here and we forget that that’s not how everybody lives, and that there is need right here and that we can give to our community and do for our community right here.”
