When Gavin Guy, chief of the Petal School District Police Department, started participating in Shop With the Panther Police program several years ago, he and his four officers were able to take four kids Christmas shopping for presents they may not have otherwise had.
In the years since, that initiative has grown exponentially, to the point where the department will be able to provide Christmas joy for 30 children this time around. The event will take place on Dec. 13 and 16, when police will bring the children to Walmart in Petal to buy clothing, toys or anything else on their wish list.
“It’s just grown every year, and to go from 20 (last year) to 30, it’s just remarkable,” Guy said. “It’s just a great feeling to give back, and to give to the kids, knowing they get to buy school stuff and clothes.
“Then with the remainder of the money, they get to buy what they want, or what they need.”
The majority of the funds for Shop With the Panther Police come from the five schools throughout the district, which each hold fundraisers in the weeks before the event. During that process, teachers and staff nominate a group of children that are eligible for the program.
A list of those nominees is brought to the principals of the schools and then to Guy, who presents the names to a committee to be narrowed down.
“We’ve got people calling and saying they want to nominate their kid, but that’s not how the process works,” Guy said. “We don’t take nominations from outside; we let our teachers, faculty and staff pick the kids.
“Then they have to write a little synopsis about the kid – why they think they should be picked. Our teachers are working with the kids every day, so they know who needs something and who’s in need.”
Although the Petal Police Department used to host Shop With a Cop during the Christmas holidays, that program was discontinued last year, and fully taken over by the Petal School District Police Department. However, PPD chief Matthew Hiatt and his crew will be on hand to assist at Walmart this year.
Guy’s motivation to start Shop With the Panther Police is simple: he can remember when, as a child, he had his own wish list of items that he was unable to get.
“So this is something I want to do for the kids that really can’t get the things that they would like to have,” he said. “We want to give them opportunities to at least buy something that they want for Christmas.
“I just have a passion for it, and we want to help. It’s just a remarkable feeling, watching kids with a smile on their face and watching them shop, and watching them run (around the store). As a child, I would have loved to be able to do that … so I like giving back to the kids and watching them appreciate the things they get.”
Individuals or businesses can make financial donations to Shop With the Panther Police by stopping by the Petal School District Central Office, 115 East Central Avenue in Petal.
“We just get excited to see the kids, and throughout the school year, the school district sees the needs of kids,” Guy said in a previous story. “We visit them, we talk to them, we see them every day, so it makes us feel good knowing that we can do things for kids and help them out, and make sure they’ve got a good Christmas.”
