Later this month, the Police Officers of Scottsdale Association, or POSA Inc., will host its 12th annual Christmas Shop With a Cop event, where hundreds of underprivileged kids and teenagers go on a shopping spree, $150 each, with police officers.

It's one of POSA's two signature events for kids, the other being its Back-To-School program, that the union fundraises for year-round. Union President Jim Hill said they recently split the Christmas event into two days.

Few things tug at the heartstrings more than cops helping underprivileged kids, and the numbers show it.

Annual donations for the programs jumped by more than 82 percent between 2006 and 2012, according to the union's tax records. Tax records for 2013 have not yet been filed.