Donations now being accepted for Christmas outreach effort
A community outreach program through which local elementary school students get to do some Christmas shopping with first responders will continue this year, but it will look a little different due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ellijay Police Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit managed by the city police department, sponsored its first Shop With a Hero effort last year.
The shopping portion of the program was conducted in cooperation with other public safety agencies including the Gilmer Sheriff’s Office, East Ellijay Police, Ellijay Fire, Gilmer Fire and Rescue, Georgia State Patrol, the state Department of Natural Resources and state Department of Community Supervision.
“We had big dreams after last year, and we were going to try and double it this year. I think we still could if it weren’t for the COVID restrictions,” said Renea Green, a Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) special agent from Gilmer County who helped organize the effort last year.
Normally a one-day outing, Shop With a Hero will be held over two days this December, noted Ellijay Police Capt. Ray Grace.
“It will be over two Saturdays, and we’ll do four events in midday and late afternoon. That way, we can social distance and comply with CDC standards,” he added.
Local school counselors choose the student shoppers. The police department does not sign up participants for the program, Grace noted.
“We didn’t want to take away from any of the other programs (in the county), so we went to the counselors and said we want to help kids who have, maybe, fallen through the cracks. Maybe it’s a kid who’s had an illness of some kind or a kid who’s recently lost a parent or their parent has lost a job,” said Green following last year’s program.
“We got to meet not only a great group of kids, but also their families. It was good for us to have a positive impact on them, and for them to have a positive impact on us,” said Grace, also after the 2019 Shop With a Hero.
That first outing saw a total of 52 third-fifth grade children from Clear Creek, Mountain View and Ellijay Elementary School participate in first responder-led Christmas shopping activities at the East Ellijay Walmart
“We’re still hoping to (shop with) about the same number of kids as last year,” Green said. “It will be the same this year with each child being given $150. (Half) will be spent on clothing and the other half on whatever they want.”
The Ellijay Police Foundation was also able to help other grade levels with last year’s program, Green noted.
“(In addition to) the shopping, we were also able to pay off the middle school’s lunch balances. We also did 12 Christmas dinner baskets for the high school and donated food to the high school’s food pantry,” she said.
How to donate
Due to public event limitations during the pandemic, advance fundraising efforts for this year’s Shop With a Hero have been minimal, confirmed Green.
Normally, that would start in June and the police foundation would have later fundraising opportunities, including its annual Night Out Against Crime, to raise money for Shop With a Hero. But not this year, Green noted.
Donations can still be made to the program, Grace confirmed. The foundation is in need of only monetary donations, not donations of clothing or toys, he specified.
“If anyone wants to donate, they can write a check to the Ellijay Police Foundation and drop it off at the police department. They can also go to United Community Bank on Industrial Boulevard and say it’s for the Ellijay Police Foundation’s Shop With a Hero. All the clerks know what to do from there,” Grace said. “If they write a check, it needs to say Shop With a Hero in the memo section.”
Anyone who wishes to make a donation or has questions can also contact Green or Grace directly at the following: Ray Grace: 706-635-7430 or grgrace@etcmail.com; Renea Green: 706-889-4584 or Renea.Green@gbi.ga.gov.
“Shop With a Hero is its own entity in the foundation. Any money that goes to this program stays here and goes directly back to Gilmer County kids,” Grace said.