Shop With A Cop

During the 2018 holiday season, Pilgrim’s Gainesville partnered with the Gainesville Police Department to sponsor its annual Shop with a Cop event. Each year, police officers work with the Gainesville City School System counselors to identify and select children from lower income neighborhoods to participate. Together, these teams witness the struggle these children’s families experience to afford the basics, much less buy Christmas gifts. On the day of the event, each child receives $200 to buy whatever he or she wants at Walmart and is accompanied by a police officer throughout their shopping spree.