19-298 Pinellas Deputies And Members “Shop For Santa” To Help Over 800 Children And Their Families Registered With The Sheriff’s “Christmas Sharing Project”

Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Christmas Sharing Project
-"Santa's Shoppers" (Members of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office)

What: 
Nearly 100 Pinellas County uniformed sheriff's deputies, members and volunteers from across the agency will "Shop For Santa" to assist families registered with the Sheriff's Christmas Sharing Project, a program which helps families in need over the holidays.

Shoppers will be spending the money raised at the 26th annual "Ride & Run With the Stars" event, which was held at Fort DeSoto Park on Saturday, December 7, 2019. The amount collected this year exceeded $87,000.

When:
Shopping will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, December 13, 2019.

Where:
"Shop for Santa" will be held at the Target located at 4450 Park Street North in St. Petersburg.

Why/How:
Uniformed Pinellas County deputies and members from across the agency will meet at the Target store located at 4450 Park Street North in St. Petersburg, beginning at 6:30 a.m., on Friday, December 13, 2019.

Members from the agency will have wish lists in hand and shopping carts ready as they "Shop for Santa" and purchase items for children and families being assisted by the Sheriff's Christmas Sharing Project.

Shoppers will be spending the money raised at the 26th annual "Ride & Run With the Stars" event, which was held at Fort DeSoto Park on Saturday, December 7, 2019. The amount collected this year exceeded $87,000.

While toys are mentioned on the wish lists, basic needs items like underwear, socks, a jacket or school clothes usually top the lists provided by the families. The families in need were identified by Sheriff's Office members throughout the year and are screened to determine the level of support, which is provided.

Bicycle requests will be filled separately and delivered to families throughout the holidays. Approximately 104 bikes will be delivered this year.

Deputies will be delivering many of the packages in person to the deserving families in the coming days.

Media is invited to attend this event. Please contact PIO Corporal Chuck Skipper at cskipper@pcsonet.com for additional information or assistance.

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri would like to thank the following "Sheriff's Circle Sponsors" and "Platinum Sponsors" for their generous contributions:

Sheriff's Circle Sponsors:

Attenti
CTS Towing + Transport
Ditek
JoAnn & Joseph White
Sheriff’s Citizens Academy Alumni Association
Spa Manufacturers
Suncoast Voices for Children
SunTrust
Target

Platinum Sponsors:

Abe’s Place Tap & Grill
Bay Star Restaurant Group
Brown Insurance Services
Chick-fil-A
Dynamic Solutions Group
Great Bay Distributors
LIVE Watersports
Olive Garden Italian Kitchen
Pascia & Pascia Dentistry
Pepsi
Raymond James
Tampa Bay Newspapers
Texas Roadhouse Grill