HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Building positive relationships through experiences is what the Henrico Fraternal Order of Police hoped to do on Saturday morning.
They held their annual Cops and Kids event with more than 125 elementary kids participant from Henrico County and New Kent Schools.
The event kicked off at the Henrico Moose lodge where kids and their families were assigned an officer who would be their partner for the festivities. They ate breakfast together and began bonding before heading to Walmart for a shopping spree.
Henrico County Police Officer Britnney Pike got paired Baker Elementary School student Mikayla.
“Mikayla matches my energy and she is the most responsible," Pike said.
Each child in the program would be getting $250 each because of fundraising for the Cops and Kids Event, according to organizers.
They had to spend half the money on essentials like clothing, shoes, personal care items and school supplies. Then they could spend the other half on gifts like toys, makeup and books.
Pike gave Mikayla the full experience by taking her police vehicle. When they got into Walmart, Pike had to wrangle in all of the elementary school-age excitement.
“I’m getting flashbacks from when I was a kid and I’m feeling for my mom — this is a new experience," she laughed.
The pair shopped for essentials like socks, shoes and clothes and then splurged on items like a fun Christmas onesie. They also got to practice learning budgeting skills to get the best bang for their buck within their $250.
Pike hoped she got to make this experience more than just shopping for Mikayla
“This is a different type of interaction than most officers get to have so I would not trade it for the world," she shared.
It was an experience focused around forming friendships with the officers. And from Mikayla's perspective, she more than made that happen with Officer Pike. In fact, she ranked the experience a 10 out of 10 with a big smile on her face.
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