This holiday season, 29 local kids and their families in the Crestwood and James A. Garfield School Districts enjoyed some extra holiday cheer. This extra cheer was due, in part, to the extra help that was provided by several local first responder organizations.
This year, the Hiram Police Department joined forces with the Village of Garrettsville Police Department, Garrettsville Freedom Nelson Joint Fire District, Hiram Firefighters Association, and Community EMS. As such, the annual program formerly known as “Shop With a Cop” has been renamed “Shop with a Hero”.
“’Shop with a Cop’ is something we hold dear to our hearts,” noted Hiram Fire Chief Brian Gregory. “My predecessor, former Hiram Police Chief Ed Samec, started the program 13 years ago.” Chief Gregory continued, “And with the increasing inflation, combining our agencies together for the ‘Shop with a Hero’ program just makes sense. It enables us to increase our total budget and spending on the children and their families, ensuring that even in challenging financial times, everyone can enjoy a happy holiday with less financial stress.”
But the program provides much more than financial benefits. The program brings children and first responders together to make connections. That builds bonds that are essential to local families, connecting those who may feel forgotten with caring individuals within their communities. Chief Gregory continued, “No child should have to go without during the holiday season.” Not when local heroes are here to help.
This year Crestwood and Garfield families boarded J. A. Garfield buses, which transported them not to the North Pole, but to the Streetsboro Target. Along the way, first responders escorted them in police cars and fire engines, making some holiday noise through the city, in cooperation with the Streetsboro Police Department. J. A. Garfield School buses provided Polar Express-like transportation, while bus driver volunteers served as festive ‘conductors’.
Once the group was transported to Target, first responders, together with Mayor Rick Patrick (Garrettsville) and Mayor Anne Haynam (Hiram) and Hiram Village Council President Chris Szell were present to help with their shopping lists. Children selected gifts for themselves and their loved ones, while spirits were made bright with help from the 8th Count Dance Studio in Garrettsville, as well as the jolly old elf himself (Chris Novotny). Once each child was finished shopping, their carts of goodies were delivered to a team of elfin volunteers to be gift-wrapped and ready for the holidays.
The Heroes expressed gratitude to all those who attended fundraisers to support these efforts, as well as to Michelle Rowh-Eackelbary and Target-Streetsboro for serving as Santa’s Workshop. Once the shopping and wrapping was completed, King Forest Products in Windham provided a pickup and enclosed trainer to act as Santa’s sleigh to transport the wrapped gifts back to the Garrettsville Fire Station.
After a busy morning spent making lists and checking them twice, the families, shoppers and volunteers were all invited back to the Garrettsville Fire Station for a delicious meal provided by the culinary elves at AVI Food Systems Inc. Together, local heroes were able to spread holiday cheer and create unforgettable memories with the amazing kids in their communities.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for March 1st, 2025. That’s when Shop with a Hero will host a Scotch Doubles event to help raise funds for the 2025 Shop With a Hero holiday event!
