23-158 Pinellas Deputies and Members “Shop for Santa” To Help Nearly 260 Families Registered with the Sheriff’s Christmas Sharing Project

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

PINELLAS COUNTY - Pinellas County uniformed deputies, members and volunteers from across the agency will "Shop For Santa" to assist nearly 260 families registered with the Sheriff's Christmas Sharing Project, a program which helps families in need over the holidays. Almost 700 children will benefit from the project this year.

Shopping will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, and will be held at the Walmart located at 990 Missouri Avenue North in Largo.

Shoppers will be spending the money raised at the 30th annual "Ride & Run With the Stars" event, which was held at Fort DeSoto Park on Saturday, December 2, 2023. The amount collected for shopping this year was over $71,000.

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 71 bikes will be delivered this year.

Media is invited to attend this event.

Please contact PIO Deputy Jamie Miller at jmiller6@pcsonet.com and advise whether you will be attending.

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous contributions:

Platinum Star Sponsor:
Northern Bloom Consulting LLC

Gold Star Sponsors:
Dynamic Solutions Group
Enforcement One
Spa Manufactures, Inc.
Morgan Auto Group Helping Hand Fund Inc.
St. Anthony’s Hospital
Morton Plant Hospital

Silver Star Sponsors:
Abe’s Place Tap and Grill
Baystar Restaurant Group
Chick-fil-A Tampa Bay
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 43
CSX Transportation
Wawa

Bronze Star Sponsors:
Clearwater Towing Service Inc.
Department of Detention and Corrections Support Services Division
Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties
Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund
Walmart

Legacy Sponsors:
Allied Universal Electronic Monitoring
DITEK Surge Protection
Captain Dean LaChance Sr. (Retired)
Mr. and Mrs. Joe White
Pascia Dentistry
Raymond James Financial