Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Christmas Sharing Project
-"Santa's Shoppers" (Members of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office)

What: 
Nearly 100 Pinellas County uniformed sheriff's deputies, members and volunteers from across the agency will "Shop For Santa" to assist families registered with the Sheriff's Christmas Sharing Project, a program which helps families in need over the holidays.

Shoppers will be spending the money raised at the 25th annual "Ride & Run With the Stars" event, which was held at Fort DeSoto Park on Saturday, December 1, 2018. The amount collected this year exceeded $95,000.

When:
Shopping will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 12, 2018.

Where:
"Shop for Santa" will be held at the Target located at 4450 Park Street North in St. Petersburg.

Why/How:
Uniformed Pinellas County deputies and members from across the agency will meet at the Target store located at 4450 Park Street North in St. Petersburg, beginning at 6:30 a.m., on Wednesday, December 12, 2018.

Members from the agency will have wish lists in hand and shopping carts ready as they "Shop for Santa" and purchase items for children and families being assisted by the Sheriff's Christmas Sharing Project.

Shoppers will be spending the money raised at the 25th annual "Ride & Run With the Stars" event, which was held at Fort DeSoto Park on Saturday, December 1, 2018. The amount collected this year exceeded $95,000.

While toys are mentioned on the wish lists, basic needs items like underwear, socks, a jacket or school clothes usually top the lists provided by the families. The families in need were identified by Sheriff's Office members throughout the year and are screened to determine the level of support, which is provided.

Bicycle requests will be filled separately and delivered to families throughout the holidays. Approximately 156 bikes will be delivered this year.

Deputies will be delivering many of the packages in person to the deserving families in the coming days.

Media is invited to attend this event. Please contact PIO Corporal Dan DiFrancesco at ddifrancesco@pcsonet.com for additional information or assistance.

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri would like to thank the following "Sheriff's Circle Sponsors" and "Platinum Sponsors" for their generous contributions:

Sheriff's Circle Sponsors

attenti
Sheriff's Citizen Academy
Target
DITEK  Surge Protection Corporation
JoAnn & Joseph White
Suncoast Voices for Children
Enforcement One
Spa Manufactures
Suntrust
 

Platinum Sponsors

Abe's Place Tap & Grill
Brown Insurance
Chick-Fil-A
Dynamic Solutions
Great Bay Distributors
Image Depot
Olive Garden
Pepsi
Raymond James
Tampa Bay Newspaper
Texas Roadhouse Grill
Baystar Restaurant Group
Pascia and Pascia Dentistry
LIVE Watersports