After being greeted by Seymour Police Department Officer Dakota Burke and his wife, Shelbi, brothers Adam Pringle and Brody Fields guided them to the clothing department at Walmart Supercenter in Seymour.

There, they picked out pajamas with Pikachu, space man and dinosaurs on them and also a plaid pair. They got other clothing and coats, too.

Then Adam, 11, and Brody, 9, ventured to the shoe department and picked out some new kicks.

Finally, they wound up in the toy department, where they put a remote-controlled car, Legos, light sabers and more in their cart.

Once each of them had spent $150, it was time to go back to the lawn and garden department to check out.

From start to finish, the Burkes, the brothers and their family members enjoyed the unique experience of the Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108’s Cops and Kids shopping day on Saturday.

The program pairs local law enforcement officers with kids for a shopping experience in December ahead of Christmas.

“It feels really good seeing the kids smile and their face light up. You can’t beat it,” Dakota said, smiling, as he and his wife shopped with their second family of the day.

“The last little boy we had, he smiled ear to ear the entire time no matter what we were doing,” Dakota said. “He was just excited to be here.”

This was the Burkes’ first time participating in Cops and Kids.

“I think it’s really good for just community relationships,” Dakota said. “People will see us out here, and they can start to realize we’re just normal people like they are. You see all of the bad things in the news and whatnot, but you get out and you actually talk to the community and people realize it’s not really like that everywhere. I just like being part of the community, getting out there and getting to know everyone.”

Shelbi Burke said it was so much fun shopping Saturday morning.

“It’s very rewarding. It has been very fun,” she said.

“She has been dying to do it,” Dakota added.

“I’m on the Toys for Tots committee, so I love doing all of this stuff,” Shelbi said.

The brothers were among 105 kids from 42 families served by Cops and Kids this year, said C.J. Foster, president of FOP Lodge 108 and a lieutenant with SPD.

The boys’ mother, Julia Dorsett, said the program was a big help.

“I just like that they do this in general,” she said. “I’m a newly single mom, currently going through a divorce. I just didn’t know if I was going to be able to get my kids Christmas this year, so this is a huge help.”

When she was her sons’ age, she participated in the same program.

“I know I used to get clothes and shoes and probably every toy known to man,” she said, smiling.

Now seeing her sons get to experience shopping with a cop was special.

“It is just so rewarding for everybody,” Dorsett said. “I absolutely love it. Just the smile on their face is so worth it. They’ve been through a lot, especially Brody. He’s going through a lot right now, so to see him smile is pretty amazing. You just can’t beat that.”

Adam said he liked getting to pick out toys, clothes and shoes with the Burkes and his family.

“It was fun. It was the best time of my life,” he said, smiling. “I hope I get to do it again next year.”

Nathan Canaday, who has been a reserve officer with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department for a year and a half, participated in the Cops and Kids shopping day for the second year in a row.

“Just helping out the community, just giving back and helping everybody,” he said of why he wanted to do it last year and return this year.

“I think it puts a positive outlook on law enforcement giving back,” he said. “It doesn’t make us look like the bad guys, so the younger kids can see us ‘Hey, they are not so bad after all. If we’ve got a problem, we can come to them instead of what we see on TV or whatever.’”

He said it’s a pretty good feeling helping with the effort.

“It’s an easy way to give back and help others,” Canaday said.

Ser-Chadance McIntosh, 10, had the privilege of shopping with Canaday on Saturday morning. He picked out Legos, a controller for his Nintendo Switch and more.

“I though it was really nice of them to do it,” Ser-Chadance said.

Indiana Conservation Officer Brad Barker was back again this year participating in Cops and Kids. He said he started in 2007 when he was a reserve officer for the Medora Police Department, he continued helping when he worked for the sheriff’s department and he has carried that on as a conservation officer.

Fellow conservation officers Rob Klakamp and Blake Everhart were there Saturday, too.

“Representing our department and our community, for sure,” Barker said. “The other two guys, Rob and Blake, are both Jackson County officers. I’m assigned to Bartholomew County. I live in Bartholomew County. I’m still a member of our local FOP. I’m not going to leave the FOP. I like all of the guys here a lot, and I like doing stuff like this with the community. It’s very special to me to be able to give back a little bit.”

Cops and Kids is something Barker looks forward to each year.

“I’m donating my time today for this,” he said. “I just really enjoy being here and seeing the kiddos’ faces light up and be able to maybe get stuff that they wouldn’t be able to normally get.”