Two weeks after the Christmas event called “Shop with a Hero,” as most of Gilmer County prepares for the new year. A story comes in from one of those who volunteered for the event.

Attending the event as a reporter is one thing, many people focus on the aspect of helping the community and the joy on the kids faces. But some may notice something more. Looking around, there was more than just kids and families there. There were more people affected than just those who were helped. Reaching out to the agencies who participated, FYN got a very special response from one officer who volunteered. Take a moment and feel this story from Ellijay Police Chief Edward Lacey:

Captain Ray Grace of Ellijay Police Department has been talking about his desire to have a Shop with a Cop type program for at least three years.  We recently had a criminal case which required the assistance of the GBI and as such we spend a lot of time with GBI Special Agent Renea Green.  One day (about 8 weeks before our event) SA Green, Capt. Grace, and myself were in Captain Grace’s office when the topic of this type of program came up.  Special Agent Green became very excited and we found that she had worked first hand with a similar program in Bartow County.  As the conversation bumped around the room the creative juices flowed between Grace and Green and by the end of the day they were fully committed to making sure this program came to fruition.

The decision was made to not just do a “Shop with a Cop” program, but to include all public safety in Gilmer County.  The name Shop with a Hero was born.  Since the Ellijay Police Foundation has been up and running for a couple of years now, it was deemed the perfect vehicle for the program as it has civilian oversight in a non-public safety affiliated board of directors.  We had a meeting with all public safety department and agency heads and school officials and the program was off and running.  We originally planned to try to sponsor 25 children in our school system for a $150 shopping trip to Walmart with $75 mandatory spent on clothes and the other $75 on anything the child wanted to purchase (within reason, of course).  It was just a few weeks of support flowing in when we had met our goal and we noticed that we were going to be able to do so much more than we originally planned.

Soon we were financially able to sponsor 52 children.  At first we thought about focusing on youth who were in foster care and/or identified by DFACS as children in need.  But in our hearts we knew that there were other children that had not been “touched by the system” that were just as needy.  We knew that there were many programs out there to help with foster care, CASA, and DFACS but realized that these other children often go overlooked.  That’s when we decided to involve those who know the children the best – our counselors from the Gilmer Schools.

It was amazing to see all of public safety working together with private businesses and the public school system to take care of these children in need.  The financial support surpassed our dreams.  Soon we realized that we could do more than just sponsor shopping with 52 children.  We paid off the lunchroom debt of one school, set up a system to provide school counselors the ability to purchase shoes, jackets, and other necessary clothes (year round) for children that  were in need.  The folks at Walmart, especially Tom (manager) were awesome.  They just kept on giving support.  Their efforts provided a huge amount of food for the High School food pantry.

When the day of the event came, I had asked not to shop with a child unless it was the last resort.  I didn’t want to take the opportunity away from any police officer, dispatcher,  or fire fighter.  When the leadership nodded at me and paired me up with a 10 year old girl, I must admit that I was a bit out of my element.  Although I have a 3 year old granddaughter, I am the father of sons and don’t know much about shopping with girls.  I didn’t know what to expect.

It was not long before my heart strings were tugged hard.  First I learned that her grandmother was with us because her mother had recently passed away from an illness.  Next came what truly revealed this precious girl’s heart.  She did not shop for herself first, but purchased Christmas gifts for 5 friends and then a small toy for her cat.  When I asked, “Okay, do you need any clothes?” she told me that she was singing in church on Sunday evening and needed something to wear.  I said, “Really? What church” to which she replied, “First Baptist”.  It was not until this point that I knew that she was involved in the music program at my church and that she would be singing during the same program as my wife on Sunday evening.  That’s when I remembered what an old friend once told me, “There are no coincidences. Only God at work”.

She picked out a few clothes but I could see that she had her eyes on a red sequined romper.  She picked it up a few times and put it back. I leaned over to her grandmother and asked, “What’s she doing” and was told, “she’s worried about spending too much money”.  I had been keeping track of the budget and noticed that we had spent about $50.  I went over to her and said, “Get it. It’s okay, just get it”.  Her face lit up and then we went and got some shoes, and earrings.  Surprisingly, she didn’t really get any toys for herself, but stocked up on paints and craft supplies.  Soon, with a quick hug and photo op,  we were out of there to go our separate ways.

I couldn’t wait for Sunday evening.  I can’t tell you how great it was to see her all dressed up in the church musical on Sunday evening.  They sounded wonderfully.  She wasn’t the least shy in singing or performing and looked awesome in her sequin romper, white sweater, grey shoes, and sparkly earrings.

One thing I’ve learned after 30 years of law enforcement is that the “warm and fuzzy” moments which shed light upon why we do what we do are rare.  When these happen we cling to them as the sustenance that gets us through the darkness.  If this were my last warm and fuzzy moment of my career, this one would sustain me until then.