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Livermore Police Department and Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD) have teamed up to bring back the annual "Shop with a Cop" program and have already exceeded their fundraising goal.
The program allows Livermore officers to "adopt" an LVJUSD student who is in financial need, and take the student shopping for holiday presents in early December with funds donated from the community.
Students are nominated to participate in the program by LVJUSD staff, according to a description of the event on GoFundMe, where the agencies are collecting donations.
The crowdfunding campaign has surpassed it's $9,000 goal for this year. At the time of writing, the campaign had reached $10,585 on GoFundMe. LPD officials said that they often receive donations all the way up to the event and during. Funding that comes in after the fact is saved for the following year's campaign to give it a head start.
The shopping event usually takes place on a Saturday morning in early December. This year, it is set for this Saturday (Dec. 11), according to LPD officials.
The selected students will meet a Livermore police officer in uniform at the school they attend. The officers drive the students to a local Starbucks where they are treated to a cup of hot cocoa.
After that, all of the officers and students caravan to Walmart in Livermore where they are greeted by the Granada High School band and members of the student leadership team before going on their shopping spree to select gifts for their family members and themselves, according to event organizers.
Organizers said that Walmart and Starbucks have been supporters of the program since its inception.
Upon completing their shopping, the students are assisted by their officers and other volunteers in wrapping their presents before being taken back home.
LPD and the Livermore Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association are also hosting their 19th annual Giving Tree initiative. The department collects and delivers gifts to seniors and Livermore families in need of assistance.
In the police department lobby, there is a tree with tags that have numbers and gift information on them. Participants are asked to take a tag and return a new, unwrapped gift with the tag attached to the department lobby.
Participants can also select a tag from an online system through a link or a QR code. People can participate in the Giving Tree through this Friday (Dec. 10).
More information about "Shop with a Cop" can be found here and more information about the Giving Tree is available here.
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