GREENVILLE — As Kirk Groenenboom found himself quickly veering left and right through the aisles of Walmart on Thursday, the Belding firefighter did his absolute best to keep up with an excited Maddie Hamilton, 8, of Greenville.
The second-grade student was on a mission — not to find what toys were best for herself, but to find those that members of her family would enjoy.
“It was fun seeing her be so happy and excited,” Groenenboom said. “She got exactly what she wanted to get for her family, and that was really fun to see.”
Groenenboom and Maddie were paired together as part of the Greenville Department of Public Safety’s “Shop with the Hero” event, held annually at Walmart in Greenville every December.
The event provided $110 in gift cards to 27 Greenville-area school children, selected by GDPS School Resource Officer Josh VanderMuelen, who has gotten to know countless children throughout the Greenville Public Schools district since he started that position this year.
VanderMuelen reflected on his own personal experiences with children over the past few months to pick out those who might otherwise have struggled to provide gifts for their family were it not for the Hero event.
“The position as a school resource officer, it’s hitting close to home,” he said. “I’m that face that they see now, they can feel comfortable with me. They see me out at the grocery store and say ‘hi’ — that means I’m doing the right thing. This position is making a difference. It’s going better than I think myself or anybody in the department or at the city thought it would.”
As a result, the children that participated in the event all appeared to be having a pleasant time while shopping side-by-side next to a local “hero.”
“This year we have 27 kids and several agencies participating, including Greenville Public Safety, Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office, Montcalm Township Fire, Montcalm EMS, the Belding Fire Department and the Greenville U.S. Army Recruiting Station,” GDPS Administrative Assistant Sue Powell said.
Powell has been organizing the event for years, and even when the coronavirus pandemic prevented the event from occurring inside Walmart, the department still carried on, choosing to deliver the gifts directly to the children at their homes as a safe alternative.
“It is our mission and goal to be active in the community and this is just one of the events that we do to help our community,” she said. “The kids enjoy being paired with their local heroes and get an opportunity to build a long-lasting friendship.”
As Megan Hamilton watched her daughter, Maddie, make her way through the store with Groenenboom, she couldn’t help but smile.
“It was nice to see,” she said. “Maddie sometimes has thoughts that not all police officers are nice, so it was nice to see them in here with different kids, so she can see that they are nice people and they are not out there to hurt her.”
Megan added being selected as one of the families to participate will make their Christmas one of the best they’ve had yet.
“There’s a lot of us in the family to buy for and this event just made that a little bit easier this year,” she said.
Greenville Department of Public Safety Officer Alex Tanis saw both children he was partnered with smiling from ear to ear as he dropped the largest nerf guns he could find into their carts.
“It’s great to be part of such a good community event,” he said. “I can’t thank Walmart and everyone who helped out enough. This is all about spreading holiday cheer and spirit. It’s one of those things that’s just magical to be a part of.”
Having reached into his own pocket to provide “a little extra” when shopping with the kids, Tanis said he also believes the Shop with the Hero event helps create a better relationship between area children and local law enforcement.
“The biggest thing is getting them comfortable,” he said. “It obviously can be intimidating for them, so I just wanted to let them know, ‘hey, we’re human, too.’ We just wanted to help them out and provide them with a good Christmas. It was also refreshing to see kids who wanted to get gifts for brothers and sisters, moms and dads and not just for themselves. It’s exciting to see kids who think outside the box like that.”
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