The Fulton Police Department has come up with a contingency plan for the annual Shop with a Hero event.
First responders will still collect donations and shop for local children, they just won't be able to do it together.
'This year is going to be a little different," FPD Lt. Jason Barnes said.
Normally, children get to tag along with local heroes, spending two hours shopping for whatever items they want or need - from school supplies and groceries to clothing and toys.
First responders participate from FPD, Callaway County Sheriff's Office, Holts Summit Police Department, Auxvasse Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Callaway County EMS, Department of Corrections, Callaway County Joint Communications, Missouri National Guard, North Callaway Fire Department, South Callaway Fire Department, Holts Summit Fire Department, Fulton Fire Department, Central Callaway Fire Department and New Bloomfield Fire Department.
"There was talk about canceling it this year," Barnes said. "I decided we could come up with different avenues."
Currently the plan is to provide each participating child with a wish list. Once they determine what they want, a first responder will purchase it for them. What delivery will look like is still undecided.
In past years, children got to ride to the store in firetrucks and police vehicles.
With the joint shopping trip off the table, Barnes is considering other options, such as delivering the items to each child or inviting the children to pick everything up in a reverse parade at the Fulton Police Department, where families drive-by with the emergency vehicles on site.
Barnes joined the Fulton Police Department 16 years ago at about the same time as Sgt. Joe Schramm. Back then, he and Schramm traveled to Cole County to take part in their Shop with a Cop program.
"Sgt. Schramm decided we needed to get the program here in Callaway County in Fulton," Barnes said.
Over the past 14 years, the event has grown locally, with other first responders joining in.
"It has grown from Shop with a Cop to Shop with a Hero," Barnes said.
Schramm plans to retire in 2021. With that in mind, he has passed the torch on to Barnes.
"We would like to thank Sgt. Schramm for all the time and effort he has put into making this program what it has become," according to a press release. "Without his help, many children in the community would still be in need and not have the experiences they've received for the past 14 years."
Barnes says children love the program every year.
"We feel the same way, as fur us cops, firefighters and paramedics - we love the interaction with the children," Barnes said.