FARMINGTON, MO (KTRS) For years, police departments nationwide have become involved with their communities through programs such as Shop With A Cop. Local police go shopping with disadvantaged youngsters to make their holidays a little brighter.

Police in St. Francois County held their 25th year of Shop With A Cop Friday, Dec. 15.. One Farmington officer, Jeff Kostedt, was one of those youngsters when he seven and his mother couldn’t afford much of a Christmas. He said at first, police scared him but through the county’s Shop With A Cop program, he learned they’re people just like everyone else. It also inspired him to become an officer.

Another Shop With A Cop program is held this year in Ferguson, thanks to the combined efforts of the Electrical Connection and St. Louis F-C.