AUSTIN, Texas – About 100 children got their holiday shopping done on Friday morning. They had some help from Austin police officers, as part of the annual “Shop with a Cop” event.

“Most of the kids that are here, they’re selected by the school resource officers, and they’re referred to us. In this case, we actually have a lot of kids from the three schools that are part of the foster system and through our sponsor that we have from the Saul Paul Foundation and Dream 2030,” Amigos en azul President Vanessa Jimenez said.

Students from Austin ISD showed up by the bus load to Target on Friday morning. They were paired up with an Austin police officer to shop.

“It changes the way they see us, they see us smiling, and they see us asking them about what’s your favorite toy, or let’s buy this and let’s buy that, and they just kind of see us more in that personal experience, one on one with us, and that’s what it’s all about,” Jimenez said.

Each child is given $150 to buy whatever they want, but many choose to purchase items they need and even buy things for their family members.

“We would think that the majority wants toys, but no, they want basic things,” Jimenez said.

Shop with a Cop started in 2006 with a small group of police officers from Amigos en azul taking a few children shopping during the holiday season. The president of the organization said she can relate to these kids.

“For me, it’s just a very personal experience. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money, so it reminds me of those times when I struggled, right, and in this time as an officer, to be able to tell these kids that, hey, we’re here through your struggle, and we’re here to help you and make a little bit better holiday season just because we can, right,” Jimenez said.

The annual event is made possible by donations to Amigos en azul.

“We’ll be doing this again next year. Hopefully, we can help more than 200 kids, and that will be with the help of the community and sponsors that would like to help us out,” Jimenez said.

Another 100 kids are set to go shopping on Monday.