The Champaign Police Department and the Champaign Meijer gave 32 local children from needy families the chance to choose Christmas gifts on Wednesday night at Meijer.

At the event, called “Shop with a Cop,” the children spent the evening shopping for presents from their wish lists with their families and Champaign police officers. The shopping was followed by a Christmas party, featuring holiday desserts, pizza and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Police Chief Anthony Cobb appeared at the event and interacted with the shoppers.

Each family paired up with an officer or staff member of the Champaign police force. Sgt. David Griffet said the recipients are identified through schools, social workers and officer interaction and are selected based on the level of family financial need, among other factors.

Urbana resident Nicole Shorty, whose daughter Ashley was among the Shop with a Cop participants, praised the event.

“It’s a great experience to see my children happy and … know there’s someone in the community, especially our police department that’s a great asset to what’s happening in Champaign,” Shorty said. “(It’s) exciting for me … that our … police officers are really giving back to the community.”

Officer Ed Wachala, event organizer and school resource officer at Champaign Centennial High School, said the 10th annual event strived to bridge the gap between citizens and officers.

“The whole point of it is to have (the children and families) see the police officers just as human beings … like anybody else,” Wachala said. “Very often (officers) bring their families with them to shop with the kids … We care, and we want to give back to the community.”

According to a Champaign police press release, each child had up to $125 to spend.

“We actually doubled what we thought we were going to be able to do this year,” Wachala said, citing fundraising efforts within the department by Griffet as one of the reasons. Meijer contributed the majority of the funds, as it has since the first year of the event, along with all of the post-shopping refreshments.

Christina Fecher, spokeswoman for Meijer, said the company has a “long-standing commitment to supporting communities where (its) associates and customers work and live.” Fecher added that the company donates 6 percent of its net profit each year.

“It’s a great opportunity to partner with community law enforcement agencies to make sure kids have a fantastic holiday,” Fecher said.

Ilya can be reached at [email protected].