15/December/2012 – Shop with Santa’s Heroes

Local Law Enforcement, Walterboro Public Safety and Fire-Rescue participated in the annual “Shop with Santa’s Heroes” event Saturday 15-December. The effort was coordinated by Ricky Valentine and DSS. Twenty three personnel assembled at the County Parking lot at 07:00 to be paired up with a child selected by DSS. The children were allowed to choose a police unit or Fire-Rescue vehicle to ride in to Wal-Mart. The vehicles headed to the store at 07:30 with the kids operating the sirens until they reached the destination. Each child received a $180 shopping card made possible by donations from local businesses and/or individuals. Some personnel went above that amount in a generous gesture. Wal-Mart pitched in with a discount to make the funds go a little further and Santa even made a visit to meet the kids. After an exhausting hour at Wal-Mart, the group responded to Burger King, where Mr. Cook and his staff donated breakfast to the group. It was a rewarding experience and made Christmas a little brighter for several children. DSS had other events planned for other children later in the day.