About 30 area children will have their Christmas brightened by the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday during the WCSD’s annual “Shop With A Cop.”

Each year, deputies takes a group of youths to see Santa and follows the visit with a small shopping spree at a local store.

Lt. Jim Anuszkieiwcz said it’s a way for the youths to bond with deputies and for the department say 'thank you' to residents.

“We do this for the community that supports our office,” he said. “It’s an event we feel is a way to give back to them and the children who are the future of our community. It provides a close relationship to kids that want a relationship with a deputy who works in their community.”

A similar event was also held for kids on the county’s west side, but the eastern side’s Shop With A Cop was offered to children from Lincoln, Ypsilanti and Willow Run school districts.

Districts refer kids between 7-and 12-years-old to the department, and they are first taken to see Santa at the Marriot at Eagle Crest.

After visiting Santa, the kids are taken to the Ypsilanti Township Wal-Mart, where they have a set amount of money to spend on presents.

Anuszkieiwcz said kids usually buy gifts for their family and friends, but sometimes also buy themselves a couple of items.

“The kids seem to enjoy the close bond between the Sheriff’s deputy and themselves, and they obviously love the shopping as well,” Anuszkieiwcz said.