REACH Foundation Hosts 'Shop With A Cop Program'

From The REACH Foundation:

The REACH Foundation’s “Shop With A Cop Program” seeks to provide much needed help to underserved children this holiday season.

In its fourth year, REACH’s Shop With A Cop program provides a unique holiday experience for underserved children during the holiday season. Each child is paired with a participating law enforcement officer where they shop for themselves, their families and an identified child from the community where the officer serves. The program begins with a ‘meet and greet’ over dinner and entertainment followed by a Police procession with flashing lights to the host Target store. Once everyone arrives, the youngsters are paired back up with their “Partner” and begin their one on one shopping experience. Santa is there and walks around offering his secret information to the shoppers as they pick presents out for their family. We have some local and national celebrities stop by to participate, which creates some pretty big excitement as well. Once finished, they receive a goodie bag and get their pictures taken with their officer, Santa and Mark Wilson, a co-founder of The REACH Foundation.

Over 250 children will be served at four locations this year, buying for themselves, their families and another child from their community. There are over 30 Connecticut Police Departments, including Connecticut State Police, that participate in this program.

This program was created to help strengthen the relationships between at risk youth and law enforcement in their communities, while providing a special holiday experience for children in need. Law Enforcement is typically looked upon negatively in their communities and we are optimistic that Shop With A Cop will help these kids realize that the police can be a resource for them. This event is done in hopes that it will deter even one child from choosing a life of crime or violence. The participating children are identified by schools, youth organizations, social service agencies, outreach programs, and service providers. The donation is coming at a critical time of year when low-income families struggle to come up with holiday gifts for their children.

Locations:

Manchester - December 8, 2016

• Meet and Greet Location at 4pm: Dave & Buster’s, 100 Buckland Hills Dr, Manchester, CT 06042, (860)327-0900
• Shopping Host: Target 6pm, 125 Buckland Hills Dr, Manchester, CT 06042-8701, (860)327-0082

Enfield - December 8, 2016

• Meet and Greet Location at 4pm: Asununtuck Community College Outback of Enfield Sponsoring the meal, 170 Elm Street, Enfield, CT 06082, Phone: (860)253-3019
• Shopping Host: Target 6pm, Enfield Square 90 Elm St, Enfield, CT 06082 (860)741-2676

Southington - December 13, 2016

• Meet and Greet Location at 4pm: Crystal Bees, 240 Spring St, Southington, CT 06489, (860)276-2337
• Shopping Host: Target 6pm, 600 Executive Blvd, Southington, CT 06489-6008, (860)406-6754

Milford - December 15, 2016

• Meet and Greet Location at 4pm: Bowlmor-AMF, Milford Lanes #326, 1717 Boston Post Rd, Milford, CT 06460, (203)878-4658
• Shopping Host: Target 6pm, 1191 Boston Post Rd, Milford, CT 06460-2763, (203)306-5063

The REACH Foundation is a 501.c.3 non-profit founded by Mark and Wendy Wilson in 2000 to help children in need - physically, socially, and financially. The REACH Foundation was originally established to fund educational scholarships, continued education for educators, and programs that encourage social and civic responsibility in and out of the classroom.

The focus of REACH has expanded to include additional programs in order to serve more children. The primary mission of The REACH Foundation is to reach out to advocate and help children in need and to provide programs to improve their environment. The Foundation’s mission is simple,

“If in only one life, make a difference.”

Image via The REACH Foundation