Traditions
Santa’s big helpers take kids on a shopping spree
The deputies were on a mission and they came with full tactical gear. They also brought smiles and warm hearts.
“This is the best thing we do all year,” Deputy Lee Ford said, standing at the front of a line of shopping carts inside the Walmart store in Georgetown.
Each year since 2000, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office has taken kids from the county schools Christmas shopping. One deputy. One child. One cart.
There were 36 of each for this year’s spree on a recent Saturday morning. The students are picked by their schools based on academics and behavior. The deputies, corrections officers and support staff volunteer.
Hank Betts, a litter control officer, not only shopped, he made sure the kids were all accounted for as they assembled at the sheriff’s office then rode a school bus to the store and back.
“The most important thing is, don’t lose a kid,” Sheriff Carter Weaver said.
The first child arrived nearly an hour before the event began. It means a lot to them, and to his staff, Weaver said.
“This isn’t about us,” he said. “It’s about them.”
The deputies each have $150 to spend. The money comes from donations and the biggest share is raised by the Local Heroes Golf Benefit put on by the Dead Dog Saloon in Murrells Inlet.
Other shoppers who see the kids and deputies will also offer to help.
Betts recalled being at the register one year when a man in line behind them offered to pay the whole bill.
But deputies will also spend their own money on the children. It isn’t just that $150 doesn’t go as far as it used to.
Ford said his adult daughter always donates money for his shopping trip. It’s a way to give during the holidays.
And the kids aren’t buying for themselves.
“They mostly buy for their siblings,” Lt. Chris Geno said.
And although the toy aisles are a favorite stop, they aren’t the first stop or even the only stop.
One girl arrived at the checkout with a cart filled with toys and a gallon of milk.
“It’s for my brother,” she said, adding that he is 15.
They also bought clothes, household items and snacks. Those who needed gift wrapping, got that courtesy of the sheriff’s office when they returned to the office after shopping.
Ford looked through a rack of Pokémon cards with Ty’ion Scott, nodding his head in agreement that the selection was sparse. They still managed to fill their cart with a couple of remote-control cars and a fishing rod.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Ford said.
