CHECKING HIS LIST: Three brothers got to meet Santa Claus during the Wander with a First Responder program, while enjoying a taco bar at El Jalisco.

THOMASVILLE- The spirit of Christmas could be felt throughout Walmart on Thursday evening, as the store welcomed in the annual Wander with a First Responder Program.

The program pairs children with first responders from Thomasville Fire Rescue, Thomas County Fire Rescue, Thomas County Emergency Services, and Thomasville Police Department. After being paired, the duos enjoy a taco bar dinner at El Jalisco, meeting Santa and shopping at Walmart.

According to Public Information Officer Cpl. Crystal Parker, the children are recommended by their schools.

“We get with the guidance counselor at the school and they help us select who would be deserving of the program or who might need to be able to participate,” Parker said.

Children aren’t the only ones who leave the program with a smile on their faces. This year, Second Harvest donated pantry boxes that S&L Integrated Services passed out to parents when they dropped their children off. The pantry boxes contained items necessary to fix a traditional Christmas meal, along with donated turkeys from Walmart to cook.

The experience was overwhelming for some of the children, who didn’t know what to make of the event.

“It’s a little weird at first because they (the kids) come up to a large group of people and it’s hard for the shy kids, but they get to know their shopping buddy over dinner and are much more comfortable once they go over to Walmart,” Parker said. “Once they’re over there, they all have a good time.”

While at Walmart, first responders are given pre-loaded cards with $100 on them to spend on each kid. The money is a combination of grants and donations given to TPD.

Parker explained TPD typically is the recipient of a Walmart Community Grant, which allows them to make Wander with a First Responder possible. However, this year they ran out of funding earlier in the year.

“We were able to get some good donations through the community though,” Parker said. “All of that goes right into this program so we can continue putting this on every year.”

The money allows the children to pick out whatever is at the top of their list, which ranges from Paw Patrol toys to dinosaurs and “pet reindeer.”

“It’s really fun for the officers to see what Christmas is like through the eyes of a kid again,” Parker said. “It kind of reignites that magic a little bit.”

While there were many kids in attendance, Wander with a First Responder also included middle and high school students this year. Unfortunately, Parker found that most of the no-shows for Thursday night were the older students.

“We might not do that next year,” she said. “We might find some other way to reach them next year because I do understand that this is geared toward younger children. I can kind of see why they wouldn’t want to go shopping with a first responder.”

No matter what they do moving forward, Parker is forever thankful for the numerous volunteers, and sponsors that make the event possible, including, Envision Credit Union, The City of Thomasville Employee Charity Fund, and Toys for Tots.

Parker explained this year she was contacted by Toys for Tots, who helped her brainstorm ideas to make the annual event an even bigger success.

Through a combined effort, Toys for Tots provided gifts for the siblings of children who were not chosen to partake in Wander with a First Responder.

“A lot of times siblings will show up with their parent to drop off the child who was chosen and unfortunately we can’t accommodate every single kid in every family, so they were able to bring toys to give to other kids in the household,” Parker said. “It was a pretty awesome idea Toys for Tots had.”

Parker was additionally thankful to the officers who gave up their time to make every child’s wishlist come true and to both El Jalisco and Walmart for hosting the large group.