Nitanis, age 8, was helped in her Christmas shopping by PA Police Chaplain Nora Vedress as part of the annual Shop with a Cop program. (Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Christmas joy

Extra spending money for this year’s Shop with a Cop

Dec 18, 2024 | 4:47 PM

The children taking part in the 2024 Shop with a Cop had $150 to spend this year, a big boost from previous years with a $100 allowance.

The annual event features some specially chosen students from local middle schools who partner with a member of the Prince Albert Police to shop for their family.

“It gives us an opportunity to strengthen and promote those positive relationships with the kids and families around Christmas who we know are a little bit more stressed and this, we hope, is just a little bit to make that Christmas Day that much more special,” said Sgt. Derek Simonson.

The day started with the 20 students being picked up from their schools, half from the public division and half from the Catholic division in the Prince Albert Raiders’ team bus.

They were then taken to McDonalds for some breakfast before heading to Canadian Tire to do their shopping. Prince Albert Crime Stoppers, the High Noon Optimist Club and Prince Albert Northern Bus Lines also sponsored the event.

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Once at the store, each student paired up with an officer, got a shopping cart and had help choosing gifts for their family.

“There’s a lot of kids that are doing some really practical shopping for their parents and of course, we have a few kids that want to buy for themselves, so we’ve got to help them out a bit,” Simonson said.

One of those kids with a Funko pop in the cart for himself was nine-year-old Parker, who was shopping with Const. Dean Smith.

Parker limited his answers to one word at a time but said he enjoyed the shopping experience. He also had a few gifts picked out for his dad.

Nine-year-old Parker was helped with his Christmas shopping by Const. Dean Smith at Canadian Tire Wednesday morning. (Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

“It’s just something fun for us to get out in the public with the kids and do something that’s kind of instead of having us come to their house all the time for different emergencies or crises. It’s nice just to get out with the kids and share a meal with them and do some shopping and have fun,” Smith said.

Meanwhile, eight-year-old Nitanis had a bigger list, including a cookie sheet for her mom and was being helped by PA Police Chaplain Nora Vedress.

“I’m shopping with Nora and we’re getting stuff for my family,” said Nitanis.

Nitanis said she likes eating the cookies her mom bakes and pragmatically thought that she would be the target of the Nerf gun she had in the cart for her older brother.

She chose a very large water bottle for her grandpa but said they are going to Edmonton for the first time and it’s a six-hour drive so she thought he would drink all the water inside. She also chose a red fuzzy blanket for her uncle.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil@bsky.social