The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is asking residents for help with its Shop with a Sheriff program. This program helps kids in the North Kansas City School system where they serve as School Resource Deputies.

The program allows deputies to take about 40 underprivileged children who are selected by North Kansas City Schools shopping where they can pick out gifts for themselves. If the Sheriff’s Office didn’t participate in this program, these kids would not have much under the tree for Christmas.

According to deputies, convincing the kids to shop for themselves can sometimes be a challenge for deputies. “For a lot of the children, deputies have to convince them to buy something for themselves because they just want to get gifts for their family members,” states the Sheriff’s Office.

This program depends on donations from employees, community partners, and small grants.

Donations for the Shop with a Sheriff program are tax-deductible and those who wish to donate to the program can do so online HERE.

KPGZ News - Brian Watts contributed to this story