Christmas came early for some youngsters in Calvert County this past weekend. The Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, Fraternal Order of Police and the Calvert County Optimist Clubs helped to sponsor the Third Annual Calvert Shop with a Cop on Saturday, Dec. 13 in Prince Frederick.

Local families experiencing economic hardships can’t always provide their children with their own celebration of Christmas. The Shop with a Cop program joined these underprivileged children with local police officers, providing the children with money to shop for Christmas presents for their families and themselves.

The holiday fantasy began as officers picked up the 72 children at their homes and transported them to Outback Steakhouse in Prince Frederick for mouth watering breakfast. After everyone’s tummies were full, the officers paraded up Route 4 with sirens and lights on, while the children received a police escort to Wal-Mart where they were met by members of Calvert County Optimist Clubs for their shopping experience. The children were each given a $100 allowance for shopping, along with a 10% discount provided by Wal-Mart.

One child had on his list, earrings for his mom, socks for his brother, an hot cocoa for his sister because she wasn’t feeling well. The tyke did end up getting a new pair of sneakers for himself.

Once the shopping carts were full and Christmas lists were checked off, the officers and children returned to Outback to wrap their gifts and more breakfast was served.

“This program is truly a blessing,” said Sgt. Keith Hicks.

President of Calvert Shop with a Cop, Teresa Evans said, “Seeing the expressions on the kid’s faces, is the true meaning of Christmas.

The Calvert Shop with a Cop program was introduced to Calvert County by Janet and John Bateman of Lusby. The couple had volunteered with St. Mary’s for seven years before bringing the program to Calvert.

To make a donation to this program, make a check payable to: Calvert Shop with a Cop, P.O. Box 81, Prince Frederick, Md. 20678.