Austin Police Help Ensure Merry Christmas For Needy Austin Kids

AUSTIN, TX — Members of Amigos en Azul will host Shop with a Cop at an area retail store on Saturday to ensure children that otherwise may not have gotten toys this year go on a mini-shopping spree.

Members of Amigos en Azul, Spanish for Friends in Blue, will be dispatched to the Target store in the Capital Plaza shopping center at 5621 N. Interstate 35, around 11 a.m. to hand out gift cards for the young beneficiaries. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, officers noted they will be be paired up with kids as has long been the custom. Sadly, Santa Claus himself had to bow out for fear of catching the virus.

But the children's parents will be there to accompany them on their on-site shopping excursion or return home with cards allowing for on-line purchases, police said.

During the holidays, Amigos en Azul provides disadvantaged students from area elementary schools the opportunity to shop for themselves or their family members. This year, roughly 50 children from Woodridge and Cook elementary schools were chosen to participate, police said

"The Shop with a Cop program creates a positive environment in which elementary school students can socialize with officers and reinforce the fact that police officers are friends in the community," officials wrote.

The kids also will be treated to lunch, each one given a McDonald's gift card to purchase their meals. In addition to Target and McDonald's, others participating in the altruistic effort include Starbucks; Cops for Charities; Austin Police Women’s Association; Lesbian and Gay Peace Officers Association; St. Chubby Golf Classic; and Lamb’s Tire and Automotive.

Amigos en Azul was founded in 1982 to better bridge the gap between the Hispanic community and the Austin Police Department. The group's annual gifts include:

• Scholarships to area high school students.
• Recruitment of youth into law enforcement careers in providing a progressive image with which they can identify.
• Furthering by words and actions a more positive identification with law enforcement on behalf of the entire Austin community.
• Improvement with the lines of communication between Spanish-speaking residents and law enforcement.
• Involvement in the established police-community relation programs with the Austin community in adherence to Austin Police Department policies.
• Volunteerism in the community by conducting outreach programs and crime prevention