DuPage deputies go shopping with some of county's less fortunate
Shoppers at the Bloomingdale Wal-Mart got an unexpected Saturday morning visit in the form of dozens of blaring police squad cars rolling into the store parking lot.
At first blush, it seemed an ominous entrance. Then pint-size passengers hopped out of each of the cars.
Dozens of deputies from the department participated in the annual "Shop with a Cop" program, a charity effort in which about 75 needy children living throughout DuPage County got a chance to purchase $150 each worth of gifts for themselves and their families.
Many of the children are found through area social service agencies, said DuPage County Sgt. Randy Groh, who helped organize the event, which is in its 20th year.
"We're all just coming together to help the community," he added.
One of those kids, seven-year-old Gianna Czernek of Carol Stream, was certainly in no mood to dillydally.
"You want to get Chucky? You don't want to get a Chucky movie?" DuPage County Sheriff Sgt. Fabio Vellega asked while standing near a rack of movie titles.
"No, don't even say his name," Gianna shrieked, as she ducked underneath the burly cop. "I get nightmares about him."
Before Vellega could even blink, Gianna grabbed the front of the pair's shopping cart and pulled it near an aisle full of action figures, dragging Vellega right behind.
"This is what it's all about," he said.
Seven-year-old Daeja Saddler, meanwhile, was the model of efficiency in finding gifts for her family.
The Willowbrook girl's brother got a pair of shoes, and her father got a football. But when it came to picking out a gift for herself, well, time was not exactly a top concern.
"You know at this rate, we'll be eating lunch here," Deputy Millie Stejskal teased the little girl as the pair stood in front of an aisle full of "High School Musical" dolls.
Sheriff's Deputy John Cotter spent the morning on a mission to find 11-year-old Jake Jakubowski's dad a computer flash disk drive.
Cotter has been volunteering his time in the annual program for each of the last seven years.
"Especially in this economic climate with the way things are - I definitely want to give back to the community a little bit of what it's given me," Cotter said. "I'd like to instill that giving spirit in my own family, too."