Winter coats were at the top of the Christmas wish list for three little boys at the Walmart Supercenter Wednesday night.
Oh, they wanted toys too, but coats came first for the three Ulven boys on the third night of the annual Shop With a Cop program sponsored by the Fremont Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 37.
“I told them we were going to shop with the police officers and they said ‘You mean the ones with the handcuffs? Can we be police officers?’” said Nicole Ulven. “I didn’t know anything about it until Max’s teacher signed him up and sent a note home with him in his backpack. It’s wonderful. Not a lot of people have a lot of option for Christmas for three kids ” especially ones with special needs.”
Matthew, her 4-year-old son, has autism and Max, her 5-year-old son, was recently diagnosed with ADHD. Max, 2, also went shopping.
Off-duty officers will take
106 kids shopping this year as part of the Shop With a Cop program and spend approximately $100 per child on warm winter clothing and age appropriate toys. Families in need were nominated by their children’s schools, Care Corps or the Crisis Center to participate in the program that is funded through donations from local businesses and individuals.
This year, the Ulven family went shopping with Fremont Police Officer George Berry, a 37-year veteran, and his wife, Beth.
Being a single mom to the three doesn’t make things easy, Ulven said. Neither did working a graveyard shift as a nurse’s aid, but Ulven said she recently was hired full-time on a 2-10 p.m. shift so things will hopefully ease up.
“It would have been really bad without this,” Ulven said. “I didn’t know how I was going to do Christmas this year.”
The first place the family stopped on its shopping trip was the winter clothing area.
“I hear you all need coats,” Beth said as the night began.
“Do you know what size they are mom?” George asked.
Ulven knew the sizes. She also knew the coats the boys were wearing when the came into the store weren’t going to be big enough to last the winter.
“I like that one with the fur. It will keep his head so warm,” Ulven said. “I like that one on you buddy. Do you like it?”
Max found the right size and the group was on to the next items.
“We’ll get the other boys coats and then shoes,” Beth said.
With three winter coats in the shopping cart, they moved on.
“The sooner we get the shoes, the sooner we get the toys,” George said.
The boys picked out tennis shoes that they liked, including a pair of Shaq shoes for Max. However, when asked if he wanted to be a basketball player someday, he said he didn’t.
“No, I want to be Spider-Man,” the 5-year-old said. “Then I’m going to get the monster.”
Just before the toys came hats and gloves.
“He’s got a big brain, so he needs a big hat,” Ulven said about Matthew.
When they got to the toy aisles, Max picked out Legos and a few others, while little Ryan picked out an electronic guitar and Matthew picked out some Fisher Price toys. Ulven picked some books to read to the boys and to help teach them how to read.
“That was awesome,” Ulven said.
The boys all thanked the Berrys and wished them a Merry Christmas before visiting Subway for a free cookie.
“It’s fun, it really is,” Beth said.
“We’re not close to the grandkids, so this is kind of our Christmas too,” George said.
They both said they enjoyed the family and didn’t mind spending a little extra time with them.
“With autism, you’ve got to take your time,” Beth said. “We’ve been fortunate to have healthy kids and grandkids. We share a lot of their joy.”
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