Photo by Deb Gau A group of area kids and teens teamed up with Marshall Police officers to go Christmas shopping for their families on Thursday. Young shoppers took the lead in looking for the perfect gifts, while officers including Ben Kelly, at far right, helped keep track of the checklists and budget.

MARSHALL — The store was bustling with people taking care of their holiday shopping. Among the crowd searching for items on their families’ Christmas lists on Thursday afternoon were seven area youth — and several Marshall Police officers.

The kids took the lead, pushing shopping carts through the Marshall Walmart, while the officers helped them brainstorm gift ideas for parents and siblings.

“Who do we have next?” an officer asked, checking one young shopper’s list. “What kind of things do they like?”

The “Shop With Cops” event on Thursday was a chance to help make the holidays brighter for area families in need, organizers said.

“I know things have been tough for some families in the last couple years,” said Ryan Anthony, one of the event organizers. Besides helping families at Christmas, it would be fun to let kids pick gifts for their families and themselves, he said. “It’s nice to switch the role for kids.”

Police officers took kids in a total of six families Christmas shopping, with a budget for each gift. About 35 people total would receive gifts, Anthony said. After everyone was done shopping, officers helped transport the gifts back to the Marshall Law Enforcement Center where kids could wrap them.

Kids said going on the shopping trip was fun, even if it wasn’t always easy to think of the perfect present. One young shopper, Jason, said he already knew what to get for at least some of his family members.

“It’s nice, when you’re walking around, when they say what they would want,” he said.

“We’ve got to wrap a lot of stuff now. That’s the hard part,” MPD Corporal Ben Rieke told Jason.

Ryan and Leah Anthony, co-owners of Downtown Sound Entertainment, said the idea for the “Shop With Cops” event came together over the past year.

“I saw this once when I was in the Twin Cities,” Ryan Anthony said. It seemed like fun for families, but also a way to reach out to local police. “It’s important for everyone to know the police department is out here to protect.”

Anthony said Downtown Sound reached out to United Community Action Partnership and area residents, to help give families in need a chance to register for the event. Community fundraisers and contributions from local businesses helped raise spending money for the shopping trip.

“It just kind of developed itself over this last month,” Anthony said.

Anthony said he hoped the holiday shopping event could continue in Marshall next year, and maybe expand to include firefighters and other emergency responders.