Eighteen Morris Grove Elementary School students will get help shopping for holiday gifts this year, thanks to the Carrboro Police Department and the Optimist Club of Chapel Hill.

For the third time since 2012, the Optimist Club picked a school to participate in the “Shop with a Cop” program. Students get paired up with Carrboro police officers to shop for gifts for family, friends, and themselves.

This year, the participating Morris Grove students were chosen by Angela Snider, the school’s social worker.

“It’s a way to pair students up with an officer, and they go to Wal-Mart together, and the officer’s kind of the student’s personal shopper, and helps them find the things on their list,” said Snider.

Officers get matched with their shopping partners at the school, and everybody rides the bus together, to the store and back.

To further sweeten the experience, each student goes into the store with a $75 gift card.

“The parents that I have contacted and spoken with are very excited about it and receptive,” said Snider, “and the kids are thrilled. They keep asking me when we’re going to go to Wal-Mart.”

Public Information Officer Captain Chris Atack of the Carrboro Police Department says he regrets that he’s not going to be able to participate this time, because he’ll be in training that day.

But he has fond memories of being paired up with a McDougle Middle School Student for the first one, back in 2012.

“Sometimes you’ll get questions about what you do as a police officer,” said Atack. “But for the most part, it’s just conversations about how their school year’s going; what they’re thinking about for the holidays; and what their favorite subjects are.”

Atack said it’s mostly about “just allowing kids to be kids, and in some sense, letting the cops be kids, too.”

The special shopping trip to the Hillsborough Wal-Mart takes place December 2nd.

The Optimist Club of Chapel Hill is a non-profit group dedicated to inspiring an optimistic outlook in kids, as well as patriotism and respect for the law.

Related Stories
‹
UPDATE: Missing 83-Year-Old Carrboro Woman Safely Located
Carrboro Police are asking for your help as they search for a missing woman: 83-year-old Maree Ravellette, who was last seen Tuesday.
UPDATE: Missing Carrboro Teen Safely Located
Carrboro Police say Karina Westerlund has been safely located.** The Carrboro Police Department is asking for the community’s help in locating a missing teen. Karina Westerlund, 15, was last seen at her residence Friday, October 17 at approximately 7:30 p.m. Police say she was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and flannel pajama pants. […]
Carrboro Police Seeking Suspect in Attempted Rape on Public Bikeway
The Carrboro Police Department is seeking the suspect in an attempted rape that occurred on the Frances Shetley Bikeway, located between North Greensboro Street and Shelton Street, early Thursday morning. Police shared a release Thursday morning saying a woman was walking her dog between 1 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. when she was attacked. The suspect […]
Police: Missing Carrboro Man Found Dead in Chapel Hill
A week after Carrboro Police issued a call for help locating him, law enforcement confirmed Kent Kurosawa was located dead on Oct. 3.
Carrboro Police: Juvenile Arrested, Charged in Domestic Violence Stabbing Incident
A juvenile suspect is in custody after a domestic assault which occurred Wednesday afternoon, according to the Carrboro Police Department. Police say officers responded to a report of an aggravated assault involving a stabbing in the Lake Hogan Farms neighborhood – located north of Homestead Road – at 2:17 p.m. Wednesday and found a victim […]
Chatham County Sheriff: Carrboro Man Arrested on Human Trafficking Charges
UPDATE: On May 21, Carrboro police filed multiple charges against Edwin Silva-Badillo, based on information they received from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. Police charged Silva-Badillo with one count of statutory sexual offense and three counts each of statutory rape, indecent liberties with a child, and felony solicitation by computer — all stemming from several […]
Juvenile Suspect Arrested, Charged in Carrboro and Chapel Hill Armed Carjacking
Investigators identified and charged the suspect of armed carjackings in downtown Carrboro and Chapel Hill, according to the police department.
Carrboro Police: Suspect Sought in Armed Carjacking
The Carrboro Police are actively seeking a suspect in an armed carjacking which occurred Wednesday evening. According to a release from the police department, the carjacking occurred in a private parking lot in the 200 block of Roberson Street at around 5 p.m. Police say the victim was sitting in their vehicle, a gold 2008 […]
Carrboro Police: 2 Charged in String of Vehicle Break-Ins, 1 Still at Large
The Carrboro Police Department has charged two individuals in a string of vehicle break-ins and thefts in the area of Pathway Drive in Carrboro. The thefts occurred on February 12. A total of 20 vehicles were broken into, one was stolen, and another stolen vehicle from Burlington was recovered in Carrboro. The first individual has […]
Police Make Death By Distribution Arrest in Connection to 2023 Carrboro Fatal Overdose
Carrboro Police said regional U.S. marshals arrested 33-year-old David Allen Bonita over the death of 31-year-old Arman Guerra Imani.
›