South Whitehall and Upper Macungie Township police departments, along with Target department store, recently hosted a Heroes and Helpers shopping spree for 15 students in the Parkland School District.

The event was designed so the youngsters could purchase Christmas presents for their families.

"Heroes and Helpers, or "Shop with a Cop" is a community oriented program, privately funded by Target that pairs police officers with students to spread holiday cheer," said South Whitehall Police Capt. John Christman. "In a time when negative stories about police seem to dominate the media, this program promotes a very positive connection between police officers and the youth of our community."

Christman said 10 police officers from South Whitehall, including Chief Thomas Toth, Lt. Jason Negron, Sgt. Stephen Brown, Officers Darvin Faust, Jason Grozier, Nicholas Erdo, Michelle Geiger, Ronald Scholler, David Keck, Benjamin Porobenski, Kevin Smith, Jeffrey Natysyn and himself participated.

The seven officers from Upper Macungie were Chief Edgardo Colón, Lt. Michael Sitoski, Lt. Peter Nickischer, Detective Adam Miller, Sgt. Joe Geczi, Officer Rob Djevharian and Community Service Officer William Rohrbach.

"South Whitehall decided to participate to promote a positive relationship with the community we serve, and to offer some fun and good will to a few families that may be struggling a bit right now," Christman said. "The students who participated were encouraged to buy gifts for their family members and friends; not just for themselves.

Christman said it was special to see the thought put into each purchase.

"Even the Grinch would have been touched. The smiles on the children's faces indicated they definitely enjoyed themselves," Christman said.

"The officers had a lot of fun also. They particularly enjoyed the opportunity to work with the children on something positive like Christmas shopping."

Officers picked up the students in marked police cars at their schools and brought them to Target.

"One person who deserves sincere recognition for planning and organizing this event is Melissa Hudak, police clerk at the South Whitehall Police Department," Christman said. "Missy managed to bring everyone and everything together. Her hard work behind the scenes was crucial to the success of this endeavor."

Lt. Nickischer also commented on the event.

"The Upper Macungie Township Police Department prides itself on our community services program," said Nickischer. "However, it isn't every day we get to work with another police department on these types of assignments."

When South Whitehall asked Upper Macungie to participate, they immediately accepted.

"We feel incredibly grateful to both Target and South Whitehall Township Police for involving us in this event," Nickischer said. "They are both first-class organizations and, this event, and the kindness shown at this event, certainly proves that point."

Robert Dick, executive team leader-assets protection with Target, also spoke with The Press.

"Heroes and Helpers is one program Target does in the community," Dick said. "The program is nationwide with the police officers."

Target specifically gave $200,000 in grants to this program this year, he said.

"This is the first year the North Cedar Crest store has participated in the program," Dick said. "We contacted South Whitehall Township Police Department to see if they wanted to apply for the grant and they said 'yes' and went through the grant application process.

"Once we knew we were getting a grant for $1,500, Melissa Hudak reached out to Diane Irish at Parkland School District.

"We originally decided on one student from each school in the district and then the school district decided on four additional students."

He said each student received $100 in gift cards to purchase Christmas presents for their family members and themselves.

"Melissa made up list so the students could write out who they wanted to buy for and what they want to buy," he said.

"I think the program went fantastic. The police officers were ecstatic to get involved and many of them volunteered to pay out of their own pocket if the child went over the allotted amount."

Dick said Melissa Hudak, Diane Irish and the police officers made the event happen.

Irish, home and school visitor with the district, commented on the students' participation.

"Each student and their parents were made aware they had been selected in advance of the event," she explained.

After shopping, the students and Target employees, along with all the officers went back to the South Whitehall public meeting room to wrap their gifts and for a holiday party, complete with a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus from Dream Events, Northampton.

Christman said the party was possible due to the generous donations from local businesses including Target, Applebee's, Wegmans, Weis, Top Star/Subway, Utz and Just Born Candies.

"Cooperation helped to make this event the great success it was and promises to bring more good results in the future," he said.

"South Whitehall Township Police, specifically Capt. John Christman and Melissa Hudak, worked very hard to ensure a perfect day for the children who participated," Lt. Nickischer said. "There were also numerous local businesses that donated for the "after-party" such as Upper Macungie Township's Wakefern.

"Overall it was an amazing day and not one we will ever forget."