Valdosta Police Department receives check donation from Homebuilders Association for Shop with a Cop program.

On Thursday, December 05, 2019, The Home Builders Association of South Georgia donated a $750 to the Valdosta Police Department during its annual Sporting Clays Tournament. The money will go towards providing gifts for children in our community for the holiday season. This is done through the Annual Shop with a Cop program.

The purpose of the Shop with a Cop program is to brighten the holiday season for Valdosta families by providing selected youth ages 4-12 with some holiday shopping money. Each youth participant at the event will be paired with a police officer, who will serve as a positive role model as well as a designated shopping buddy. The Shop with a Cop program will take place on Monday, Dec. 16, at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 3274 Inner Perimeter Road.

“The Shop with a Cop program helps us build community relations. It helps get children in our community to start trusting the police officers. What could make a child more in tune with a police officer than to see a police officer come up and hand you a toy? We’re just trying to build bridges and let these children know we’re on your side and we’re out there to protect you,” said Community Policing Officer, Randall Hancock. “People refer to Shop with a Cop as a Valdosta Police Department program. I consider it a Lowndes County, Valdosta community program. We couldn’t do it without donations like the one we received from the Home Builders Association of South Georgia."

This holiday youth program rely solely on monetary donations. Donations can be made payable to “Valdosta Shop with a Cop” and may be dropped off at the Police Department, located at 500 N. Toombs Street.