Aspen Police Department sponsors 6 kids in valley-wide ‘Shop with a Cop’ event

At the annual “Shop with a Cop” event, which took place Tuesday, Dec. 16, Aspen Police Department sponsored six out of 35 children in collaboration with the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, Snowmass Police Department, Basalt Police Department, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, and Roaring Fork Fire Rescue.

The event included a shopping trip to Walmart with officers, holiday wrapping, and dinner at the Hoffman Hotel, according to city of Aspen Communications Manager Carolyn Sackariason. Each child and their family also received a holiday basket to take home at the end of the night.

“It’s a little bit more than helping families in need,” Detective Thomas Wright of Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, who originally started the event, told The Aspen Times. “It’s an opportunity that I saw for law enforcement and public safety as a whole to connect with families and children in a positive way.”

According to Wright, this year’s 35 kids was a jump from last year, which sponsored 25 kids. He emphasized the importance for public safety workers to have the chance to interact out of a crisis situation, “with someone who’s not having the worst day of their life.”

“It’s another layer of trust we’re able to establish with the community,” Wright said. “Overall, kids need the entire village to help raise them right.”

Aspen Police Department’s Accreditation Manager Ginna Gordon also underscored the importance of this event with creating a more caring, approachable, and trusting relationship between families and police officers in the valley.

“This is one of my favorite outreach events that we do,” Gordon said. “I think why it’s so special is that it gives us the opportunity to engage with our youth in a positive, non-enforcement setting. I think that’s really important because it allows us to build trust and reduce fear, and build up lasting relationships.”

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Holy Cross Energy and Pitkin County Family Service provided the financial support for the Aspen Police Department to participate in the event. The full list of community sponsors, for whom Wright expressed huge gratitude, included Andrea Gurule State Farm, Alpine Bank Willits, Basalt Lions Club, Black Hills Energy, Casa Tequila, Core Transit, Crawford Properties, Crown Mountain Express Lube, Eagle County TV, Eagle Crest Nursery, European Catering, Gould Construction, Holy Cross Energy, The Hoffmann Hotel Basalt Aspen, Los Cazadores, Vail Valley Cares, Walmart Glenwood Springs, Basalt Police Department, Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle County Crime Stoppers, Aspen Police Department, Snowmass Village Police Department, Roaring Fork Fire Rescue, Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Volunteers and Board.

“Our youth is our future,” Gordon said. “My hope is that in doing these types of events and outreaches that we’re able to plant a seed so that if these kids end up needing our services … they feel safe coming to us because they’ve already had such great interactions early on.”

The Child Welfare Hotline is also available to any member of the Roaring Fork Valley at 1-844-264-5437 (1-844-CO-4-Kids). Wright noted that the line is not just for reports of abuse or neglect, but also for support.