Blue line to sponsor ‘shop with a cop’
Published 2:09 pm Wednesday, November 4, 2020
- Participating ‘elves’ for A Blue Line Christmas for Kids will be hitting the Walmart store soon to gather up gifts from the wish lists of area children. Shown are participants of a previous “Shop with a Cop” event. From the left are Christine Ruszkowski with the Claiborne Clerk’s Office, “Santa” and Claiborne Sheriff’s detective Tim Shrout, who is co-spearheading the event. (photo courtesy)
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Local law enforcement agencies are gearing up to present the 3rd annual “Shop with a Cop” event, scheduled for Dec. 19, beginning at noon at the Claiborne County Justice Center parking lot.
The event, now known as A Blue Line Christmas for Kids, is accepting applications for qualifying county children.
Completing the form does not guarantee that the child will be included in the event. The number of children selected rests solely on how much is donated to the cause.
The event allows children whose families are struggling financially to participate in a positive way with local law enforcement. Past events have shown that those children come away from the experience with a sense of trust and acceptance of the men and women in blue.
Due to COVID-19, there will be no “normal” shopping experience between officers and kids. Instead, the officers will gather the gifts using the information gleaned from each application.
The items will be ready and waiting for each child to pick up at the Claiborne Justice Center parking lot. The drive-through event will allow parents and kids to visit with their local law enforcement officers from a safe distance.
To qualify, a child must be available on Dec. 19 to pick up their gifts. They must be able to show proof of residency inside the county and cannot be a recipient of another gift program like the Angel Tree Project. This way, more children will be able to participate in the Blue Line event.
The application deadline is Dec. 4 with a notification of acceptance phone call made to each qualifying child no later than Dec. 14.
Applications may be picked up during normal business hours at the Claiborne Sheriff’s Office, or at the Tazewell or New Tazewell Police Departments.
You may make a donation either in person or by mail to one of the following three locations:
Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office
415 Straight Creek Rd.
Tazewell, TN 37879
New Tazewell City Hall
413 First Ave.
New Tazewell, TN 37825
Tazewell City Hall
1830 Main St.
Tazewell, TN 37879
Please make your check payable either to Tim Shrout or to Tabitha Arnwine – the two officers who are spearheading this event.
