Tomball Girl Greets Local Police With Sweet Treats

TOMBALL, TX – Tomball Police officers who sat through the routine of preparing for another shift of protecting and serving, received several boxes of sweet gratitude from a grateful 11-year-old girl on Wednesday. Madison Gullion stopped by the Tomball Police Department, and with the help of her grandmother, dropped off several boxes of Shipley Donuts.

About a dozen police officers and detectives crowded around the tables stacked with six boxes donuts, which included a smaller box that held a huge Happy Birthday donut for Tomball Police Chief Billy Tidwell.

But it wasn’t just about the boxes of donuts, but how she earned the money to pay for it all that brought a smile their faces. Gullion washed her grandfather’s car, helped to unload a U-Haul truck, and painted her cousin’s house to help pay for the donuts. All of it was a thank-you six months in the making for a Christmas that almost wasn’t for Gullion.

Last Christmas might have been bleak for the Tomball ISD student if it weren’t for the Shop With A Cop program, which helps underprivileged kids have a Christmas.

“It’s such a neat thing," Tidwell said. "She was so touched by the Shop With A Cop Program that she wanted to give something back.”

The Shop With A Cop Program has been a fixture with the Tomball Police Department for nearly 20 years and works with Tomball ISD to pair under privileged students with a police officer and $300 to shop for Christmas.

“We contact the school district for a list of kids who are underprivileged, and we try and give them a Christmas,” said Tomball Police Officer Brian Hill.

The kids are taken to the Walmart in Tomball for their shopping spree in a police unit with lights and sirens and accompanied by a police officer, and are greeted by Walmart in front of the store.

The money for the program comes from donations and grants.

Since the start of the program, more than 400 kids have been served and spent more than $80,000 over the years, said Capt Rick Grassi.

“Our goal is to build a relationship with these kids,” Grassi said.

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Image: Bryan Kirk/Houston Patch Field Editor

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