JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Local kids’ Christmas wishes are coming true this holiday season.
On Tuesday, the Police Athletic League of Jacksonville held its seventeenth annual ‘Christmas for Kids,’ where first responders shopped at Walmart with kids.
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India and her kids, Arric and Silas, spent the morning at a Jacksonville Walmart. But they weren’t putting groceries in their cart.
They joined Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer Kenya Bush for a shopping trip, checking off items on their Christmas wish list.
Arric and Silas are two of over 200 local kids who got a chance to shop inside Walmart with a first responder.
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“It’s a positive experience, anytime you are able to give back to the community,” Bush said.
JSO officers, community service officers, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department personnel, and more filled Walmart, helping lift a financial burden off families this Christmas.
“Getting to say the word yes, to everything, that’s the best part,” India said.
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Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said first responders in our community are showing up in more than one way.
“This is an opportunity for us to just talk with kids and let them see us in our natural human form,” Waters said.
And that’s exactly what they did, spread joy and brought smiles to kids’ faces.
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