San Jose students get a holiday treat thanks to Shop With a Cop program

"Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Hundreds of law enforcement officers from 23 different agencies coming as far south as Salinas and north to Los Altos descended on a Target store in San Jose on Wednesday, armed with big smiles and goodwill to join nearly 200 elementary school students on a holiday shopping spree. This was Shop With a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley's 18th annual event, which many officers some wearing Santa hats and reindeer antlers call their favorite day of the year."

"It's certainly a fun day for the 180 students who participated from Santee, Dahl, Shirakawa and Kennedy schools in San Jose. They earned $300 Target gift cards by taking part in a 10-week reading challenge, with some students making huge leaps in their reading level. The San Jose Police Department nominated an additional 20 students who had been impacted by high-profile, traumatic incidents."

"We wouldn't be able to do all this without the generosity of companies like CEFCU, Adobe and Comerica Bank, said Shop With a Cop Silicon Valley Executive Director Darrell Cortez. CEFCU was the presenting sponsor and brought out a team of volunteers to cheer on the students, and the nonprofit received a $20,000 unrestricted grant from the Adobe Employee Community Fund that helped with the event."

Hundreds of officers from 23 agencies traveled from as far as Salinas to Los Altos to participate at a Target on Coleman Avenue in San Jose. The 18th annual Shop With a Cop Silicon Valley featured officers in festive attire alongside Santa and Mrs. Claus. One hundred eighty students from Santee, Dahl, Shirakawa and Kennedy schools earned $300 Target gift cards through a 10-week reading challenge, with many improving reading levels. The San Jose Police Department nominated 20 additional students affected by traumatic incidents. Sponsors CEFCU, Adobe and Comerica Bank provided funding, volunteers and a $20,000 unrestricted grant. Students had breakfast before being bussed to Target.

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