Teachers across the county are selecting 60 students to participate in the Grays Harbor Shop with a Cop program, scheduled for Dec. 2.

Students are selected based on need and their hard work and good citizenship, and may not have participated in the program from 2000 to 2016. Teachers will make their selections the first week in November, with confirmations set for Nov. 17.

The day starts early with a 7 a.m. breakfast at the Aberdeen Eagles on Market Street. Each student is paired with a police officer and, after a group photo, the kids ride with that officer in a parade through town heading to Walmart, with sirens blaring and lights flashing. Once there, the kids get a $100 gift card to spend however they please.

It is also commonplace for the officers, who come from nine local police departments and the Sheriff’s Office, to dig into their own pockets to give the kids even more.