Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Christmas Sharing Project
“Santa’s Shoppers” are Members of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office

What:
Nearly 100 Pinellas County uniformed Sheriff’s Deputies and agency members 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 earned at the 21^st annual “Ride & Run With the Stars” event which was held at Fort DeSoto Park on Saturday, December 6, 2014. The amount raised this year is about $62,000.

Bicycle requests will be filled will the assistance of Bechtel Financial Services and will be delivered to families throughout the holidays.

When:
Shopping will begin at 7:00 a.m. and continues until about 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 17, 2014. Volunteer shoppers will arrive around 6:30 a.m..

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 other agency members will be found “elfing” around the BayPines/Tyrone area Target store on Wednesday, December 17^th beginning at 7:00 a.m.

They will have shopping carts ready and wish lists in hand as they “Shop for Santa” and purchase items for children and families being served by the Sheriff’s Christmas Sharing Project.

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 being served were submitted by Sheriff’s Office members and were screened to determine their level of need.

Bicycle requests will be filled will the assistance of Bechtel Financial Services and will be delivered to families throughout the holidays.

Funds for the holiday shopping spree, about $62,000, were earned from this year’s “Ride & Run With the Stars” event that was held on Saturday, December 6, 2014 at Ft. DeSoto Park.

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

Media is invited to cover. Please contact the Sheriff’s Public Information Office at (727) 582-6221 for additional information.