WASHINGTON — Times are tough, but it can be hard to stomach the idea that a child won’t be getting anything for Christmas. So, Santa along with his buddies, made sure that’s not the case for some local kids.
Santa and his wife arrived by helicopter at the Manassas Mall Walmart Saturday morning. About 50 kids greeted the couple.
“Let’s go do some shopping kids,” Santa said. “Let’s go!” Each child got to pick $150 worth of goodies during the annual the Santa Cop event. They were paired with police officers from Prince William County and other local and state police departments. After shopping, the kids are treated to breakfast and a police escort.
Six-year-old Ashlee told WTOP that she wanted to “buy shoes, a movie and a dress.”
Sergeant Roselee Bielec with the Prince William Adult Detention Center is the Santa Cop event organizer and has been taking part in the program for 22 years. This year is a little different, however.
“We’re being little more selective of the children that are really in need,” she said.
Recently, they’re seeing more and more kids picking necessities over toys, Bielec said.
After the goodies have been retrieved, the officers line up their vehicles in a convoy out front of Walmart. With lights flashing and sirens wailing, the kids head out and shut down Route 234 along the way.
The Santa Cop event is sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Police, Battlefield Lodge 43. The money for the event is donated throughout the year.