Warsaw Police officers and children pose for a group photo before beginning their shopping adventure.

WARSAW — The Warsaw Police Department continued a local tradition by hosting the sixth annual Shop with a Hero event Thursday, Dec. 6. 

This annual event assists children identified by their schools as needing a little extra help during the holiday season and contributes toward building relationships between local children and the police officers in their community.

Thirteen children, ranging in age from 4 to 14, met up with police officers at the Warsaw Burger King, owned and operated by Quality Dining Inc. Burger King provided dinner for the children, officers and the families. Santa Claus made an appearance to visit with the children and pose for photos.

After enjoying their meals, the children were loaded into police vehicles and taken to Meijer. Each child was given a predetermined budget for clothes and toys. Officers guided the children through the clothing section first to purchase necessities before moving on to the toy section where each child was able to select a toy. All items were donated by Meijer.

“This is an event a lot of police departments do. I think it’s important because it gives the kids a chance to see the law enforcement, the nice side of us,” said Officer Rogelio “Roy” Navarro. “A lot of these kids don’t get a great Christmas so that’s why we want to share some of the love with our community.”

The Warsaw FOP will be hosting a similar event at Meijer next Thursday.