Hundreds of law enforcement officers from 23 different agencies — coming as far south as Salinas and north to Los Altos — descended on a Target store in San Jose on Wednesday, armed with big smiles and goodwill to join nearly 200 elementary school students on a holiday shopping spree.
This was Shop With a Cop Foundation of Silicon Valley’s 18th annual event, which many officers — some wearing Santa hats and reindeer antlers — call their favorite day of the year.
Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus greet student shoppers and their law enforcement companions at the Target store on Coleman Avenue in San Jose during Shop With a Cop Silicon Valley Foundation's Heroes and Helpers shopping spree on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)It’s certainly a fun day for the 180 students who participated from Santee, Dahl, Shirakawa and Kennedy schools in San Jose. They earned $300 Target gift cards by taking part in a 10-week reading challenge, with some students making huge leaps in their reading level. The San Jose Police Department nominated an additional 20 students who had been impacted by high-profile, traumatic incidents.
“We wouldn’t be able to do all this without the generosity of companies like CEFCU, Adobe and Comerica Bank,” said Shop With a Cop Silicon Valley Executive Director Darrell Cortez. CEFCU was the presenting sponsor and brought out a team of volunteers to cheer on the students, and the nonprofit received a $20,000 unrestricted grant from the Adobe Employee Community Fund that helped with the event.
San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph joins student shoppers and their law enforcement companions at the Target store on Coleman Avenue in San Jose during Shop With a Cop Silicon Valley Foundation's Heroes and Helpers shopping spree on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)The students were treated to a breakfast at the Holiday Inn on North First Street before being bussed to the Target on Coleman, where they were greeted not only by more than 200 law enforcement officers — including a few K-9 officers — but also by various mascots including San Jose State’s Sammy the Spartan, Danny the Dragon from Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, the 49ers’ Sourdough Sam and Target’s canine mascot Bullseye.
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While the event is considered a positive way for elementary school students to interact with police agencies, alas, the specter of immigration enforcement clouded the event somewhat.
Cortez said some activities originally planned to take place after the shopping spree were canceled because of concerns about immigration enforcement, and some families with eligible students opted to not participate for the same reason. Those students will be presented with their $300 gift cards to use at a later time, Cortez said.
Shop With a Cop Silicon Valley Foundation Executive Director Darrell Cortez follows 49ers mascot Sourdough Sam outside the Target store on Coleman Avenue in San Jose during the Heroes and Helpers shopping spree on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)Hence then, the article about san jose students get a holiday treat thanks to shop with a cop program was published today ( ) and is available on mercury news ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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