A local law enforcement program to bring some Christmas cheer to children in need got a boost from First Lady Jennie Gordon’s anti-hunger program.

The event is Shop with a Cop and the Wyoming Hunger Initiative and the Governor’s Residence Foundation allocated $25,000 statewide to the shopping spree for children. There was an additional $50,000 to provide food baskets to the families of the children, who were nominated by school counselors.

In Shop with a Cop, the children are usually accompanied by members of law enforcement to select gifts or personal care items for their family members.

However, “we didn’t get to go out to shop with the kids this year,” said Sgt. Matt McCaslin of Powell Police Department, adding, “It is one of the things I like best about this time of year; not getting to do it is kind of sad.”

In other, COVID-free years, the students and officers shopped together, then retreated to have a wrapping party, complete with pizza.

This year, McCaslin said, the shopping came from lists the children sent in, and was done primarily by Aimee Childress, from Cody PD, with considerable help from others in that department. The wrapping was accomplished at the Cody Law Enforcement Center as well. The Wyoming Highway Patrol organized and coordinated the event, with the Park County Sheriff’s Office being among the participants.

Despite the changes in 2020, McCaslin and three other Powell officers — school resource officers Trevor Carpenter and Matt Koritnik and officer Dustin DelBiaggio — still got to make the special deliveries of gifts and food baskets. The gifts were for four students, while there were 15 holiday food baskets provided by The Market at Powell and Blair’s Super Market, funded through the Hunger Initiative.

Donors to the programs include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming, Charter, the John P. Ellbogen Foundation, the salary of Gov. Mark Gordon, Powering Up Wyoming, Cigna, Cheyenne Frontier Days, Laramie Jubilee Days, Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo, Thermopolis Cowboy Rendezvous, Sheridan Wyo Rodeo, Meridian Bank & Trust, the Wyoming Society of Association Executives, and numerous private donors from across the country.

A press release from the office of Wyoming’s First Lady indicated the funding given to Shop with a Cop was, in part, to thank law enforcement for the additional work that officers have undertaken to provide assistance with parking, distribution and safety at mobile food pantries across the state since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Partnering with Shop with a Cop was the perfect way to thank them for their assistance while also supporting their efforts to serve the community  this holiday season,” Jennie Gordon said.