Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Darrin Zehnpfennig brought his daughter, Mila (left) to help with Shop with a Hero. Together they took Brendan (center) Christmas shopping for new Hot Wheels. Photo by Jim Newell.

‘Because every child deserves a Christmas’

By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
OXFORD TWP. — There were children and toys and a lot of joy for the boys and girls who were given the promise of a wonderful Christmas during the Shop with a Hero event in Oxford on Wednesday.
And while the heroes weren’t clad in a red and white outfit or flowing capes, they had looked into the eyes of the local youths and promised that, if only for one night, the kids would be the center of their worlds.
Deputies from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Orion Township Substation volunteered their time and took up the mantle of Chris Kringle to bring holiday light into the lives of area children in need of a little Christmas spirit.
“We are supporting 15 kids and I have 15 deputies and support staff here, one for each. This is a huge event and I can’t say enough how much I appreciate our partnership with Meijer, and with the community and how much they’ve donated. This was a major year for us on how much the community has donated, so we were able to give extra to each of the kids,” said Lt. Darren Ofiara, commander of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Orion Township Substation.
Every year, Meijer in Oxford hosts Shop with a Hero. Individual police and fire departments also raise funds, with each department giving around 10-15 kids a $100-$150 shopping spree to put gifts under the Christmas tree. Because every child deserves a Christmas, is their motto.
“And it’s going to go further. For the kids who were not here today, we’ll be able to donate more for them in the future,” Ofiara said.
While the kids have $150 to buy gifts for themselves to place under the Christmas tree, nearly all of them asked how much they can spend on their siblings and parents.
For Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett, who attends Shop with a Hero every year, the greatest part of Shop with a Hero is not only the compassion of the deputies, but the thoughtfulness of the kids and the community who support the event.
“It’s just eye-opening for me to see, first of all, the compassion our deputies have, but also a lot of these kids are buying essentials. They can buy anything they want in this store. One kid was buying his mom a new coat and looking for shoes for his sister,” Barnett said. “It shows you how grateful we are to have what we have, but also that our community looks out for each other. There’s no community like ours, period.”
The deputies look forward to Shop with a Hero and many make it a family event, bringing their spouses or children to help them shop.
“A lot of them bring their own families to help out. They love this event. They go out of their way to come here because they know it’s a good time. It’s a blast working with the kids,” Ofiara said. “Every year I have people lining up to volunteer.”
“This is one of my favorite things, just to see our sheriff’s deputies and firemen interacting with kids. These kids, the first time they see who they’re going to shop with the look in their eyes is awesome,” Barnett said. “We talk about this all year. Sgt. (Darrin) Zehnpfennig and I were talking about this while we were playing kickball. This is something they look forward to all year. It’s amazing.”
Shop with a Hero is a 100% volunteer event and extra funds raised by firefighters and police officers go toward helping families in the community throughout the year.
If anyone would like to donate to Shop with a Hero – or their local police and fire departments’ ongoing efforts to assist the community –contact those departments directly.