30 Lucky Kids Get Back-to-School Spree

If taking your own kid to the mall for back-to-school shopping might sound like a nightmare, imagine coordinating a spree for a busload of them.

No problem, said Janet Herrera of the , who recently help coordinate a shopping spree at the Palisades Mall Target store for 30 kids, one chaperone each.

As part of an annual Target/Salvation Army program, selected children in need each received an $80 gift card to spend with the help of an adult in the store.

This year about 12,000 children selected from the Salvation Army's youth programs nationally (in Tarrytown's case, summer camp) shopped at close to 500 stores participating across the country.

“It was a huge, organized success,” Herrera said. “The Salvation Army is known for its well-organized activities. No matter how large the group, there is never any chaos! We will have 1,200 people going to our family camp the weekend of August 25th and it is a well-oiled machine due to our great leaders and their organizational skills. So 30 children and 30 chaperones was a no brainer for us.”

One blogger posted pictures on the Salvation Army's national site of the Tarrytown kids giddily pushing red shopping carts, gathering backpacks and folders, and ticking off items on their shopping lists.

Blogger Megan wrote in a post titled, "Volunteers are Paid in (Joy) Full," “I once read that volunteers are paid in six figures…S-M-I-L-E-S! That’s the satisfying form of compensation Salvation Army volunteers in Tarrytown, NY received last week from local kids when they spent an afternoon helping them shop for new clothes and school supplies courtesy of the Target School Spree."

To see all the pictures and video of all the happy campers click here.