Christmas comes early for children who 'Shop with a Cop'

By Laurie K. Blandford

• Posted December 22, 2009 at 4:32 p.m.

FORT PIERCE — Christmas came a little early for 7-year-old Jeremiah Ward of Fort Pierce.

His mother, Vivian, said he awoke early and excited Tuesday morning to join 55 other children to “Shop with a Cop,” the fifth annual shopping spree where city police officers are paired with children to help them spend $75 gift cards at the Walmart store on Okeechobee Road.

“I thought it would be a good experience for him because he wants to be a police officer,” she said.

Jeremiah picked up a Bop It toy, plastic cars and a ramp for them before leaving his mom to find presents for her and his grandmother.

He began to look through window curtains for his grandmother, but crime prevention officer Damian Spotts directed him to the holiday gift basket aisle.

They’ve known each other about six months through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and Spotts nominated Jeremiah to go shopping because of his improved grades.

Most officers choose kids they have met in the past year, said Police Chief Sean Baldwin, who handed out the gifts cards beside an officer dressed as Santa Claus.

“They recognize the need for the kids,” he said. “(For) some of the kids, this is their Christmas.”

The number of children has grown each year, Baldwin said, and this year was the biggest. The Walmart Foundation and Sam’s Club gave the police department a $1,500 grant it used to add about 20 more children to the usual amount.

Baldwin said the department started the program in 2005 after back-to-back damaging hurricane seasons. He said shopping together also helps children who have seen officers negatively in the past.

“We just saw so many families that were hurting and in need,” Baldwin said. “It’s just a perfect way for these officers to spend a little bit of time with these kids and build a personal relationship.”

Officer Dani Dreizehnter brought a calculator to help 11-year-old Korey Thompson and his sister, 7-year-old Kourtney, keep track of their spending.

Dreizehnter had participated every year because she works with juveniles, she said, and some children can’t control being disadvantaged.

When they checked out, their basket was filled with a video game, a baby doll and two bikes — one pink and one blue.

“Today I got what I want — I got a game and a bike,” Korey explained with big smile. “It makes my Christmas a lot better than I thought it was going to be.”

What emerging tech do baby boomers like and demand?

hey represent a huge market. They'll soon make up one-third of the U.S. population. And they're not the first group you might think of when you think about technology innovation.

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Mary Devlin uses a laptop at her London home to use a social-networking site aimed at people over 50. The site, Saga Zone, launched in 2007.

They're the baby boomers. And surprisingly, more boomers than younger people – 59 percent versus 55 percent – believe technology will help them live a fuller life, according to a Consumer Electronics Association report.

"Boomer ideals were forged in an era when human rights and individual freedoms were central concerns, and boomers apply that perspective to technology as well," wrote futurist Michael Rogers, who authored a report released Tuesday that explores baby boomers' technology habits. "They fear that their children, perhaps unwittingly, allow technology to shape their lives rather than using technology to help create the lives they want.

"Boomers want technology to fit the lives they have made and the values they hold dear."

The report, titled "Boomers and Technology: An Extended Conversation" (PDF) and sponsored by AARP and Microsoft, reveals what many adults older than 50 think about the ever-changing tech landscape – and how they'd like to see that topography evolve. In May, Rogers and representatives from AARP and Microsoft hosted catered discussion groups with baby boomers in New York, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco.