From lemonade to Lions, Osceola rallies to support ‘Shop with a Cop’

It started small, with a meal “paid forward” in the drive-thru last summer. But a recipient of that stranger’s gift, a 5-year-old Osceola boy named Carson, was inspired by the concept. He started a lemonade stand, giving the lemonade away but accepting donations for the local police.

The Osceola Police Department, honored by Carson’s gesture, found a way to build on it. 

This year, the police and other staff added to Carson’s donation, bringing the sum to $400, and donated the total to the county’s Salvation Army for its “Shop with a Cop” program. 

The annual event benefits area children by helping them acquire the supplies they need for a great school year. Expanding on the gesture, the Osceola Lions matched the gift.

There was a large turnout for Shop with a Cop last Tuesday night, as police officers from across Polk County volunteered their time to mentor and help students shop for school. 

Although the main aim of the program is to create positive connections between local youth and police officers, children use the donated funds to choose notebooks, backpacks, shoes, clothes and anything else they need to succeed in classes. 

The children in the program are nominated in numerous ways — by teachers, police officers or others who see their family’s need for school essentials. 

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