Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office treats children with ‘Shop with the Sheriff’ shopping spree

ALBANY — The spirit of giving was alive and well on Thursday for the annual Shop with the Sheriff event.

The Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office, including Dougherty County Sheriff Kevin Sproul, hosted an afternoon of lunch and present shopping for 25 of the county’s children. Each child was able to go on a shopping spree at Target with a $100 gift card after getting dinner and a show at Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse.

At the restaurant, the hibachi chefs showed their stuff with knife tricks, rhythmic beats on the grill to get the guests moving in their seats and the tower of fire that hibachi fans have come to love.

“It’s one of the most enjoyable days of the year for me to be able to give back to these children in our community who may not have what other kids have and to see their faces when we do go shopping and how excited they get,” Sproul said. “It’s a very special moment in my life.”

The children were treated to plates of hibachi chicken, vegetables, fried rice and soup with their favorite drink accompanied by a member of the sheriff’s office or another community servant. After dipping all the chicken they could eat in the restaurant’s yum yum sauce, the group headed across the street to Target.

The brigade of sheriff’s department vehicles caught the eye of many onlookers. With little surprise, the children and their deputy guardians headed straight to the toy section.

It is not often the toy section at Target sees almost four dozen people at one time, but it was a heartwarming sight to see.

“My favorite part is hanging out with the kids in the store and watching them pick out items,” Sproul said. “You’ll be amazed at how many of these children here will actually pick out something for their brother, sister, cousin, mother or father. They don’t think of themselves in every case, and that’s amazing to me.

“I always try to encourage people and tell them when you’re having the worst day, you have to look around you, and you’ll find someone that’s have a worst day. We’re so blessed to live in America and be able to even go shopping at Christmas time, and there’s so many things that we tend to take for granted. I always tell people to look around and see who has less than you do and do something for them.”

Shop with the Sheriff Day is not the only event the sheriff’s office does for the community. Deputies visit schools year-round throughout Dougherty to conduct various programs that include intervention and mentoring.

The Shop with the Sheriff Day was made possible through a golf tournament, community fundraising and donations from the public and sponsors. Sponsors for Thursday’s event included Artesian Contractors, Shipp’s Construction, Gwen Lee, Albany Package, Josie Rich, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Albany Green Energy, Odyssey Records, Rickey D. Jackson Insurance Agency and Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler.

An additional 20-25 children unavailable to attend Thursday’s event will be provided for.

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