Fact check: Target says it is not cutting ties with 'Shop with a Cop' events
The claim: Target is dropping its sponsorship of its annual holiday 'Shop with a Cop' event
For more than a decade, Target stores have hosted events in a number of cities that pair a child with a police officer to shop for gifts and household items for their families during the winter holidays.
The event, sponsored by Target as a national company, is carried out a local level between individual store managers and police organizations. Target refers to its program as "Heroes & Helpers" instead of the popular "Shop with a Cop," which is often a colloquial reference in communities to similar programs that may or may not be linked to a specific sponsor.
A Facebook user, Drew DePastor, posted an item on July 24 that claimed the company was dropping its support for the program: "In an effort to distance themselves from Police Officers, Target has cut ties with participating in 'Shop with a Cop.' So, underprivileged kids can not shop for Christmas gifts because the police ruin Target’s image."
Target's holiday shopping program
The "Heroes & Helpers" program was launched in 2009 and takes place as a local event in stores nationwide. To date, Target says, $5 million in grants has been used to support the shopping trips, and more than 100,000 children and 60,000 police officers have participated.
The retailer denies it is pulling out of these holiday season events.
“We plan to continue to support children with Heroes & Helpers events across the country this holiday season," Brian Harper-Tibaldo, a Target spokesman, told USA TODAY. "Like many of our holiday programs, we’re carefully considering how to manage these events during the COVID-19 environment in a way that ensures the health and safety of our team and guests. We will have additional details to share as we approach the holiday season."
Harper-Tibaldo added: "Through Heroes & Helpers, Target provides grants to various partner organizations who work with us on local events," he said. "These grants are given on an annual basis and are reviewed each year. At this stage, we are still determining how the Heroes & Helpers grant program will be structured and executed during the 2020 holiday season. We will notify potential participants once those decisions are made.”
The Facebook user declined to elaborate on the record regarding his claim.
Several other fact-checking sites, including Snopes, have declared the claim "false."
Our rating: False
Target denies that it is pulling its support for the program. There is no evidence on the record that it has cut its ties to any local "Heroes and Helpers" event for 2020.
Our fact-check sources:
Conversation with Brian Harper-Tibaldo, a Target spokesman
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Target says it is not cutting ties with Shop with a Cop
