HELENA — On Tuesday, August 22, the Salvation Army hosted a "Shop with a Cop" school clothes shopping spree at Old Navy.
“It meant a lot to us for sure,” Sarah Keech, a parent of 5 said.
Over 60 students each received $150 to spend on school clothes. The Salvation Army partnered with Old Navy for the event and included an additional 25% off for the students.
Every child that entered the store was paired with an officer or deputy to accompany them on their shopping spree. About 40 law enforcement members from the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Helena Police Department participated in Tuesday's event.
“[My son] was excited and my other daughters in there she’s super excited,” said Keech.
Undersheriff Brent Colbert says this a time when they can be there for one of the better days of a person's life.
“Most of the time if we're involved it’s not a good thing but in these cases, we can say hey we are the good guys and we're here to help you in any way that we can,” Colbert said.
Not only do the children receive new clothes, but they also got to pick out a new backpack full of school supplies.
A big part of this event is making sure kids feel confident and excited to return to school.
“Being able to make them feel good going back to school with new clothes and a new backpack, its life-changing. It helps them to fit right in and make a difference and have a great school year,” said the Salvation Army Pastor, Major Iva West.
When you feel good about going to school it can translate into being more successful. Every child who walked out of Old Navy’s door had a huge smile on their face, and their shopping buddy had an equally big grin too.
“It’s kinda neat to stand over here and watch them come out. You see kids with grins and laughing. If you look at the police officers and deputies, you see the same thing, Colbert said.
“Every child that has walked out of this door today has the biggest smile on their faces as well as the police officers that are here, just so happy, said West.
Last year the salvation army was only able to include 30 kids in the event, but thanks to donations this year they were able to double that number.
