Shop with a Cop event returns to provide children with winter necessities

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - 'Tis the season of giving, and members of the community are getting in the holiday spirit, including local law enforcement in the Edgewood Borough area, who are ensuring kids are warm this winter.

Saturday morning, an Edgewood police officer helped nine-year-old Evan Redding pick out a pair of gloves at the Waterfront Target. Redding knows what to expect when the temperatures go down. 

"My hands get cold," Redding said.

The fourth grader at Edgewood Elementary Steam Academy was one of about 30 kids from the Woodland Hills School District and the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf who got to "Shop with a Cop."

Borough Sergeant Frederick Livingston organized the event.

"We got involved with 'Shop with a Cop' over the last two to three years, and I think this year has been our biggest turnout with three schools and donations," Livingston said.

Allegheny County police, state troopers, and other local law enforcement joined Edgewood for the event, along with Senator Jay Costa's office. Through donations from the Edgewood Giant Eagle and others, the kids were able to buy a coat, gloves, scarf, and hat.

It's something that warms officers' hearts.

"Not everyone is as fortunate as everyone else, and so therefore, it gives us an opportunity to do something that we take a great deal of pride in," Livingston said.

For Redding's mom, Michelle Brown, who also has another child, it provides some relief during the holiday season.

"Always grateful when you're blessed with little angels on earth to help you out with things like that," Brown said.

After all, coats are expensive, and kids grow out of them fast.

"You never know, sometimes the people that you think are okay aren't okay, so things like this is really good to help," Brown said. "It takes a village, and it's nice whenever the village finds you."