Shop with a Cop fundraisers in Unity, Latrobe sustain annual effort for children in need

State Trooper Steve Limani is braving Black Friday crowds at the Unity Walmart in an effort to raise money for children in need who will get to participate in Shop with a Cop next month.

He’s planning to be outside the store along Route 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with yard signs that will be given to donors who sponsor a child’s shopping trip, tickets for a Dec. 3 fundraiser and merchandise.

The yard signs have been an integral part of keeping Shop with a Cop alive, Limani said.

“They’ve saved the shopping program,” he said.

Limani hopes to sell 500 yard signs this year at $150 each. The Shop with a Cop nonprofit helps local children who were involved in a crime or other unfortunate circumstance throughout the year with a holiday shopping experience.

For more than 10 years, the organization has helped hundreds of children who are paired with police officers during the shopping trip. Each child gets to spend $150, and Walmart typically donates a winter coat and other items, Limani said.

Tickets are available for the group’s annual ugly Christmas sweater party fundraiser Dec. 3 at Huber Hall in Latrobe. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and there will be food, prizes, raffles, a deejay and sweater contest. Tickets are $30 each, and an eight-person table can be reserved for $700.

“It’s become the most fun thing,” Limani said. ‘It’s all these people dressed in crazy Christmas outfits.”

Yard signs for child sponsorships are available at the state police station in Greensburg at 100 N. Westmoreland Ave. or a check can be mailed to the station. More details are available at westmorelandshopwithacop.org.