LIHUE — Rosie Carrillo of the Children’s Justice Center said it takes the community to support kids who don’t otherwise have a lot of it at home.
Monday, Carrillo was joined by an army of officers from the Kauai Police Department in providing some of that support through the Shop with a Cop program in partnership with the Big Kmart store.
Jarrett Chytka, the Kmart store manager, said for the past 19 years, Kmart has been hosting the Shop with a Cop program where children, a lot of them victims of abuse and in foster homes, are given an opportunity to shop for the holidays with the help of a police officer.
“This is one way Kmart gives back to the community,” Chytka said.
Carrillo said the 50 selected children, chosen after conferences with case workers from several different community agencies, are each provided with $50 gift cards from Kmart to be spent on something for themselves or their families.
“Reaching out into the community is what Kmart is about” said Kauai Police Chief Darryl Perry. “Jarrett Chytka has bags under his eyes because he hasn’t had a day off in three weeks. KPD is honored to be a part of this program.”
Chytka said this year, the program featured a surprise after a Shop with a Cop angel visited the store.
“Angels are everywhere,” Chytka said. “We have our layaway angels who help pay down balances for customers who have items in layaway, and this year, we have a Shop with a Cop angel who is providing an additional $15 gift card to each child. On top of that, the angel wanted each child to have a $5 bill for a total of $20 extra.”
Chytka said the angels have gone viral, one showing up to pay down a layaway balance to just one cent. cent“Imagine the surprise of that customer who had a balance of about $300, and being able to get that purchase for just a penny,” the store manager said.
In addition to the shopping spree, the Shop With A Cop kids were hosted to breakfast by the Little Caesar restaurant located inside the Kmart store.
