Towns County Sheriff’s Office Opens Applications for Annual ‘Shop With the Sheriff’ Program

YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. — The Towns County Sheriff’s Office has opened the application period for its annual Shop With the Sheriff Christmas assistance program, which helps provide holiday gifts for local children in need.

Applications are now being accepted for kindergarten through fifth-grade students whose primary residence is in Towns County. The deadline to apply is December 1, 2025, and incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.

Only parents or legal guardians may apply on behalf of a child, and selected participants must be available to shop on Thursday, December 11, when buses will take them from their schools to the Walmart in Blairsville. Parents will be required to pick up their children between 5:30 and 6 p.m. that same evening.

The Shop With the Sheriff program has provided Christmas gifts to local children for decades. Sheriff’s officials said that while the program helps as many families as possible, participation is competitive and based on need. Applicants are encouraged to describe their family’s financial challenges or hardships to help with the selection process.

Applications can be obtained online at www.townscountysheriff.org, at the sheriff’s office located at 4070 State Highway 339 in Young Harris, or by calling 706-896-4444 to request one by email.

No decisions will be made before December 1, and families will be notified of selection by December 2 or 3, the sheriff’s office said.