It was still dark outside just before 7 a.m. Wednesday, but 4-year-old Malaina Hartsell looked wide awake as she waited in line at Walmart with her mother.
She was hoping to walk out with a pair of purple polka-dotted slippers.
“I just got a phone call from a woman at (La Plata County) Human Services who told me about this,” said Malaina’s mother, Skye.
Every December, shortly before Christmas, local law enforcement officers get up before the sun and head to Walmart to shop for clothes and toys with kids whose families can’t afford to give holiday gifts.
This year, the Durango Police Department raised enough to take 154 kids shopping, each with $125 budgets – $75 to spend on clothes and $50 for toys.
La Plata County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ed Aber, who helps coordinate the program, said at least 77 officers participated this year.
“It’s the biggest showing we’ve had in 25 years,” Aber said. “We’re lucky we had so much support this year. We didn’t have to turn anyone away.”
Uniformed officers with the Durango Police Department, the Sheriff’s Office, Southern Ute Tribal Rangers, Colorado State Patrol and other agencies set up a table near the checkout registers early Wednesday, and by 7 a.m., a line of families – including some excited youths – was trailing toward the doors.
Families checked in, paired with officers, picked up a glazed doughnut on the way and dispersed to shop.
“They’re going to go crazy,” said Destiny Deuel, speaking of her two daughters, Alyssa, 13, and Jaelyn, 7. The three teamed up with Durango Police Detective Cindi Taylor.
“My neighbor told me about Shop with a Cop,” Deuel said. “My husband and I both lost our jobs within a week of each other. It’s a rough time of year. When we go to the store, she (Jaelyn) will pick something up, and it’s like, no, we can’t afford that right now.”
So what was on her daughters’ wish lists?
“Probably something I can’t have – some kind of phone,” Alyssa laughed.
Jaelyn was less certain about what she wanted, but quickly identified some sort of bright pink plastic bird in a cage.
For Kyle Schlegal, 14, clothes were at the top of his shopping list.
“Hoodies, mostly,” he said while perusing a rack of them. “My auntie, she knew my mom wouldn’t be able to afford much, so she said, ‘I know of this thing!’ And we signed up.”
Shop with a Cop is supported by donations from individuals, businesses and organizations in the community. Around Thanksgiving, the program was short on funds to reach its yearly goal to pay for clothes and toys for at least 100 kids. But over the past two weeks, local entities quickly closed the gap: Law enforcement raised just over $19,000.
In 2015, the community donated about $13,000 – enough to take 111 kids shopping.
Aber said the event is a fun and fulfilling way to give kids a positive interaction with public safety officials.
Some are repeat participants, including a local boy who was camera-shy, and his younger sister, 10-year-old Juliet DiGiacomo, who was not, and enthusiastically showcased the contents of her shopping cart. It contained a Lego set, a white fleece coat and leggings.
The siblings have participated in the program for the past three years and visit Walmart a day in advance to select their bounty.
“I got these last year,” DiGiacomo said, looking down at the bright magenta leggings she was sporting.
The annual event gives the officers a thrill, too.
“I’ve done this for the past six years,” said Southern Ute Tribal Ranger Gary Maestas, pushing a shopping cart as he followed along behind a family. “I just love the kids.”
jpace@durangoherald.com
