by Kristin Kruse
The smiles were contagious on Saturday, December 7, as Stevensville Police Chief John Boe led a group of 14 happy local kids ranging in age from seven to 17 on a special Christmas shopping trip to Walmart in Missoula. Stevensville Officers Kenny Franklin and Christopher Pierce joined in the fun, along with four Troopers with Montana Highway Patrol. MHP has participated for the past three years, which allows more kids to be included. The program has been around across the country since 1999, and in addition to giving families some financial relief during the holidays, there is a strong emphasis on providing a positive interaction between kids and law enforcement. Each Officer/Trooper is assigned two kids that they transport to Missoula and help them shop, which gives the kids a unique one on one experience, and helps strengthen the relationship between the community and police.
“We all had fun, it was a blast,” said Officer Pierce.
Shop with a Cop was started in Stevensville in 2021 under the leadership of former Police Chief Mac Sosa. The department had begun fundraising efforts to bring the program to the community and were contacted by the owners of Far West Mini Storage, who had been looking for a way to give back to the community.
“We want to own this event,” stated Dave Laursen who, along with his wife Mari, own the business.
Mari shared some thoughts about giving back to her community. “Giving goes way back in my family. My Dad, Roy Rosenberger, was one of the founders of the Goodfellows Club in Missoula. Growing up I saw the joy he got in helping others and how it made a difference in the lives of families. Dave became a member of the Goodfellows Club when he and I married and he, along with other members, helped serve Thanksgiving dinners and deliver baskets to families at Christmas. Later on we passed the tradition of giving down to our son Gus and daughter Sarah, who also helped serve dinners and deliver baskets. Christmas is about giving; helping children and their families is near and dear to our hearts and being able to help our community in this way is what Christmas is all about for us.”
SPD works with the schools in Stevensville to find kids who are the best fit for the program. The participants are given a spending budget and have the opportunity to purchase things for themselves along with gifts for other members of their household. The decision to shop at Walmart store #2147 in Missoula was based on the fact that it’s “one stop shopping” and that the prices are reasonable, giving shoppers more bang for their buck. Store manager Lane Baker has partnered up with SPD each year, and makes special arrangements for the shoppers and provides some extra goodies for the kids as well. Once the group returns from their shopping trip they are treated to a pizza party and volunteers are there to help wrap all of their gifts.
Chief Boe has participated in Shop with a Cop back in Tennessee but said that this experience was especially rewarding for him.
“It was really great to get to interact with all of the kids, and make connections with them,” said Boe. “We want to be there for the youth in our community. My goal is for kids to run to us, not from us. I’d love to see a year five!”