The Philadelphia Police Department hosts its third annual 'Shop with a Cop' event

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Christmas came early for hundreds of Philadelphia children on Friday.

Members of the Philadelphia Police Department took dozens of children on a shopping spree at the Walmart on Christopher Columbus Boulevard.

Each child got a gift card with $150 to buy presents for themselves and their family members.

It is the third year the department has hosted "Shop with a Cop." Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford said the event brings officers just as much happiness as it does children.

"It makes us smile, seeing so many different things through the course of a year, " said Stanford. "This is what it's all about, seeing the happiness, seeing the joy on the face of so many children and parents and officers."

Three hundred and thirty-seven children from underserved communities participated in this year's "Shop with a Cop" event.