BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Santa gets milk and cookies, but perhaps he should share with a lot of generous people and businesses in Bradford and Union counties.
Approximately 290 students from Brooker Community School and Bradford, Lake Butler, Lawtey and Starke elementary schools enjoyed a shopping spree at the Starke Walmart as part of the Bradford Sheriff Charitable Foundation’s Holidays with Heroes event, which took place Dec. 16 and Dec. 18. Each child was allowed to select items totaling $150, thanks to the giving hearts in the community.
“I think the coolest part for me is just seeing how our community comes together,” said Bradford Emergency Management Director, who coordinates the event. “I mean, it’s everybody. If it wasn’t for that, this wouldn’t happen.”
Witt said what’s impressive is that the people and businesses who give toward the event are also lending monetary support to so many other things throughout the year.
“We’re a small community. There are a lot of people who give to a lot every year, but they show up for this without fail,” Witt said, adding, “It’s an amazing reminder how generous our community is when those checks start rolling in and people start coming by to drop stuff off. It’s just amazing to see how giving Bradford and Union counties are to make this thing happen.”
The support of Holidays with Heroes doesn’t end with those who donate money. It comes from multiple agencies who provide the personnel to serve as children’s escorts. That’s why the event’s name was changed from Shop with a Cop. It’s not just “cops” who are shopping with children. You have people representing emergency medical services, fire and rescue, the Florida Forest Service, the Florida National Guard and the Florida Department of Corrections, which provides most of the escorts year after year.
This year, you also could’ve seen participants such as Starke Mayor Andy Redding and Starke City Clerk Chrissy Thompson.
Talk to anybody who participated this year or in years past, and you’ll hear about how heartwarming the experience is. Many, like Union Correctional Institution’s Terrijean Hodges, take part once and become hooked.
“I love doing it every year,” said Hodges, who was in her third year of participating. “It’s just an honor.”
Holidays with Heroes is the perfect event for someone like Hodges, who describes herself as “a giver.”
“It just warms my heart to see the children and how they light up and to see the smiles and to be able to give them something that they might not have,” Hodges said.
As generous as the community is in providing funds and the escorts for the children, the kids sometimes prove they’re just as generous. Some escorts have children who want to select items for their siblings, parents, grandparents and even pets before thy pick out something for themselves.
That was the kind of child Hodges was paired up with on day two of the event this year. Hodges said Bradford Elementary student Skye Jonas thought of her siblings and was very thoughtful. In fact, Jonas even tried to buy Hodges a cookie when she was done shopping.
“She was really sweet and kind,” Hodges said.
Holidays with Heroes traces its origins to 2005, when it got its start by the Starke Police Department as Shop with a Cop. The Starke Police Department coordinated the event every year through 2023. The department was disbanded in 2024, which led to the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office taking over the event.
Witt has expressed his gratitude to the Starke Police Department in the past, saying, “They laid the groundwork.”
Children are chosen to participate by school personnel. Holidays with Heroes is meant as a reward to students who are doing the right things in school.
Thanks to donors, the amount of money children can spend has increased each year.
“It was $100 for a long time,” Witt said. “One of our goals was to start bumping that up because, you know, $100 just doesn’t go as far as it used to. We did $125 last year. We did $150 this year.
“As long as the community keeps doing what they do, we’re going to keep looking at being able to do more for the kids in the future.”
Sure, Santa earns all the milk and cookies he can consume for what he does every year, but this community is proving that it deserves some treats, too. In essence, Bradford and Union counties have a lot of Santas, who all play a part in giving a lot of children a merry Christmas.
