Canyon County kids get free school supplies at Shop with a Sheriff event

School is almost back in session and a group of 47 Canyon County kids got their back to school supplies for free at the 10th annual Shop with a Sheriff event. Each kid is paired with a law enforcement officer and given a $200 budget to use to shop for school supplies, clothes and other essentials they need for the school year.

• Canyon County holds events like this twice a year, once for back-to-school and again near the holidays.
• 47 kids bought a total of $9,000 of school supplies and other essentials during the event.
• The event is sponsored by the Canyon County Law Enforcement Foundation. You can find more information about the Canyon County Law Enforcement Foundation here.

( Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)

“Alright, you push the cart. Make sure you don’t run into anything okay,” says Corporal Isaac Hodges with the Canyon County Sheriff's office.

Riley Rice and Corporal Isaac Hodges are shopping for school supplies.

“I said don’t crash into people!” says Hodges.

“You were the one that did it!” says Riley.

Riley Rice was one of 47 kids invited by Canyon County Law Enforcement to participate in their 10th annual Shop with a Sheriff event.

Law Enforcement choose kids based on their daily interactions in the community and by working with school counselors to find kids that may need a little help with supplies.

“We get to bring kiddos out and get them their back-to-school supplies and what other things they need for school season," says Hodges.

Each kid is paired with a law enforcement officer and given a $200 budget to use to shop for school supplies, clothes and other essentials they need for the school year.

“Oh, this is helping tremendously because I have to normally get things here and there, instead of at one time," says Corina Rice, Riley's mother.

She tells me this event helped get her daughter ready for the school year all at once.

“I got some of the here stuff and then you guys are getting the rest of there stuff so it just helps tremendously," says Corina Rice.

“It is not often that you get to see law enforcement professionals acting silly, but I think as you walk through the store and you maneuver through the store, you did see a lighter side of all this group of people," says Captain Chuck Gentry with the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office.

He tells me that events like this help build a positive relationship between cops and kids.

“It gives a chance for these kids to see a different side of law enforcement, which I think is very important for our community to see," says Gentry. "And it also helps our community sponsor some kids that may need a little hand to get back into school."

“Whenever you don’t know police officers, you can hear good things and you can hear bad things. So she’s experiencing it herself that it is good," says Corina Rice.