THOMASVILLE — The Walmart Shopping Center was filled with a bunch of young shoppers on Monday during the Shop with a Cop initiative that gave back to several families in the local area. 

Now a collaborative project called “Wander with a First Responder,” Thomasville Police Department, Thomasville Fire and Rescue and Thomas County Fire and EMS took 60 selected children on a shopping spree for the Christmas season.

Each elementary and middle school candidate received a $100 gift card to purchase any desired item of their choosing.

The kids also enjoyed a free meal, a visit from Santa Claus and the Grinch and a personal parade that led up to the shopping spree. 

“It was a huge event and we just kind of took Walmart by storm,” said Cpl. Crystal Parker, TPD spokesperson. “They (the children) just looked so excited. It was really fun.”

Families weren’t left out as each of them received pantry boxes, children nutrition packs and turkeys provided by Second Harvest and each of the involved agencies. 

“That way we can make sure those families at least can have what they need for the main holiday dinner,” Parker said.

The importance of giving back during the holiday season is what Chris Jones, Thomas County fire chief and Emergency Management director, said drove his agency to contribute to this year’s efforts.  

“We answer calls when people are sometimes having the worst days of their life, and this was an opportunity to give back to some families and children,” he said. “Hopefully, we can participate next year as well.”

Jones added that the event wouldn’t have been possible without support from local businesses and community volunteers. 

“There were a lot of businesses that helped support that event financially, which is really unique and to me sets Thomasville and Thomas County apart from a lot of other cities and counties,” he said. “It’s a team effort and it really makes a difference.”

The annual project will only get bigger with even more collaborations planned for next year.

“We’ll definitely be collaborating again in the future with city and county agencies,” Parker said.”All of these things came together in a really big way, so it definitely would not have been possible to do the event without everybody’s help. It really was a collaboration and a labor of love from so many people.”