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2A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, December 26,2018
Community generosity touches lives
during annual ‘Shop with a Cop’
Left: Kids in the community
were paired up with mem
bers of the Dawson County
Sheriff's Office for Shop with
a Cop atWalmart. Right:
Dawson County Sheriff Jeff
Johnson pushes a shopping
cart full of goodies during
Shop with a Cop.
By Jessica Taylor
jtaylor@dawsonnews.com
Dawson County Sheriff’s
Office vehicles lined the front
of Walmart last Wednesday
night as officers prepared for a
very special mission.
At 5 p.m., Dec. 19, over 70
local children busted through
the back doors of Walmart
ready to shop until they
dropped for the annual Shop
with a Cop event.
“It’s awesome any time you
can give back,” said Capt. Chad
White.
Each year for the past 12
years, the sheriff’s office has
participated in Shop with a
Cop, an event that pairs under
privileged children in the com
munity with local officers to
shop for Christmas presents.
With $100 for each child to
spend on whatever their hearts
desired, they were ready to hit
the toy aisles for some goodies.
“This is one of the best years
we’ve had for donations,” said
Sheriff Jeff Johnson. “We’ve
had some very generous gifts
this year.”
Shop with a Cop is funded by
donations given throughout the
year as well as contributions
from local schools that have
been finding creative ways to
turn raising money into a fun
contest.
The school system raised a
grand total of $4,895.58 to go
toward providing Christmas
magic for kids. Riverview
Elementary School was the big
winner, raising $2,200, double
what the school raised in 2017.
“When you think about the
time of year this is, everybody’s
been asked to give and you
already have extra expenses for
your own family because of the
holidays, and people have just
been so generous because they
want the kids taken care of,”
said Riverview Principal Julia
Mashburn. “It just touches us
so much.”
Faculty and staff from the
school system volunteered to
help supervise as well as part
nered with children to help
Left: School Resource
Officer Stan Harrison pushes
a shopping cart through a
toy aisle at Walmart to help a
little girl shop for Christmas
presents during Shop with a
Cop Dec. 19. Below:
Riverview Elementary
School Resource Officer
Bryan Cantrell was in the
Christmas spirit during Shop
with a Cop Dec. 19.
Photos by Jessica Taylor
Dawson County News
them shop.
“I think it’s really cool. It’s
really nice that the police offi
cers take their time out of their
day to come out and shop with
the kids,” said Dawson County
Middle School special educa
tion teacher Lacy Hammond as
she manned a full shopping cart
of toys. “It’s good for our com
munity to see the police offi
cers in a good light and not be
scared or worried or think
they’re always bad - so they
know they can go to them if
they needed to, so that’s proba
bly my favorite part, that it’s
the cops giving back.”
As the happy children made
their way to the checkout line,
the hearts of officers and volun
teers were touched at the gener
osity and selflessness of the
children.
“What really amazes me...
kids want to shop for others.
It’s just not all about them.
They want to give for others
and that’s what’s amazing to
watch. It’s just something spe
cial,” Johnson said. “That’s
always reassuring, knowing our
next generation are at least
thinking of others already.
There’s hope.”
“Their spirit - he’s buying
for her. She’s buying for him.
You hear it from all over...
they’re buying for other people
and it’s just unbelievable,”
Mashburn said.
At the end of the evening, the
spirit of Christmas was alive
and well for Tina Wilson as she
expressed her thankfulness for
the event that is giving her
granddaughter Jacelyn a special
Christmas.
“(Shop with a Cop is) one of
the most fantastic things that
we ever had happen to us,”
Wilson said. “We can’t hardly
afford Christmas this year. As a
matter of fact I can’t afford it,
but all this is making my grand
daughter have a wonderful
Christmas.”
It has been difficult year for
Jacelyn, who is battling
Neurofibromatosis Type 1. She
went to Disney World as a VIP
guest for a week thanks to
Burt’s Big Adventure on 99.7,
and Make-A-Wish has also
contacted the family to help
make her dreams come true.
“This is a wonderful
Christmas due to this topping it
off,” Wilson said.
It was a rewarding experi
ence, not just for the children,
but for all who were touched by
the generosity and compassion
of the community who donated
to make Shop with a Cop a
reality once again this year.
Capt. White said it best: “I
don’t think there’s no greater
gift than to see a smile on a
kid’s face.”
Above: K9 handler Deputy ZachTotherow grabs a robot toy
from a tall shelf for a local boy during the Shop with a Cop
event that pairs local law enforcement with children in the
community to shop for Christmas presents.
OBITUARY
Jan Nix
Jan Nix, 80, of
Dawsonville, died Dec.
19, 2018.
Born Dec. 4, 1938 in
Columbus to the late
George and Dorothy Nell
Parkman, she lived in
Dawsonville for the past
20 years having moved
from Stone Mountain.
A homemaker at her
death, she worked for
many years as a Registered
Nurse. Jan enjoyed cook
ing, playing cards, reading
and she was especially
devoted to her grandchil
dren. She was a member
of the First Baptist Church
of Dawsonville.
Her husband of 51
years, Neil Brian Nix,
preceded her in death.
Survivors include her
children, Laura and Robert
VanLeuven of Cumming,
Brian and Jessica Nix of
Cumming; grandchildren,
Mackenzie VanLeuven,
Evan Nix, Jackson Nix; her
Pomeranian, Nellie; various
other relatives also survive.
Funeral services were
held at 11 a.m. Dec. 21 at
the First Baptist Church
of Dawsonville with Dr.
Jim Gaines officiating.
Interment followed in
Sawnee View Gardens.
The family received
friends from 6 to 8 p.m.
Dec. 20 at the funeral
home.
In lieu of flowers, dona
tions may be made to First
Baptist Church of
Dawsonville, P.O. Box
1358, Dawsonville, Ga.
30534.
Bearden Funeral Home
of Dawsonville was in
charge of the arrange
ments.
MERRY CHRISTMAS I
&HAPPYNEWYEARJ
www.dawsonvillehardware.com
Due to the New Years holiday,
the Dawson County News will alter its advertising
deadlines as follows for the Z.2..Z1 edition:
Classified advertising deadline will be
noon, Friday, Dec 28.
Legal advertising deadline will be
noon, Friday, Dec 28.
Retail advertising deadline will be
noon, Friday, Dec 28.
The Dawson County News will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 1
and will reopen at 8 a.vn. Wednesday, Jan. 2.
^ Daws o n C o u nty N e ws
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