Shop with a Sheriff

“’Shop with a Sheriff’ is based off of Rutherford County’s school resource officers, who go out and find children in their district that are in need, homeless, or having difficulties at home, and we have a community event at Walmart and they shop with an officer,” said Melissa Engels, senior police officer with TVHS.

For Engels, who has been with TVHS for more than five years, this will be her third time supporting the event.

“I started getting involved with our community outreach programs with the event ‘trunk or treat,’ which is held with our traffic taskforce,” said Engels.  “I met the public affairs officer there and asked about events like shop with a sheriff – because I had heard about it in other locations. She confirmed that they did hold the event here in Rutherford, and I got permission from my leadership to participate, and we have been doing it ever since.”

According to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s office, 25 to 30 children were offered the opportunity to shop with a sheriff. “The benefit of the “Shop with the Sheriff” fundraiser gives us the opportunity to take children who are in need [of] shopping for Christmas. Students are excited to have the opportunity to shop with their SRO,” said Sgt. Dustin Cox, SRO for Rutherford County.

The money raised to support the event was donated through charitable contributions collected at a series of local restaurants called Toots. Three of the restaurants in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, collected item donations a few days before the event. There was also a QR code that allowed monetary donations to be sent directly to the fundraiser.

The donations allowed the children to be escorted by SROs, VA’s police officers, and Sheriff’s Citizens Academy Alumni Association members through Walmart to pick out whatever they wanted within an allotted amount, said Engels.

For Engels, she continues to support the event and community because she has seen its impact over the years.

“It’s a little bit emotional,” she said. The first year Engels supported the event there was a young girl who received clothes and basic necessities that she was not able to get at home. Engels felt such a connection that she worked with the girl’s SRO to continue to check in on her and offer support all year.

It is through these community events that the officers of TVHS continue to support the Veterans and community of Rutherford County.

TVHS is hiring police officers to protect and serve Veterans in middle Tennessee. Visit https://department.va.gov/about/va-police/ to learn more and apply.