Here's a fun silent auction item - a night out in
the cruiser! Some people will pay good money to see what a real ride in a police car is like!
Ask for police volunteers or recruit an officer to your planning committee. Keep the police informed about your project and build
excitement as your project develops. Many departments are looking for ways to do more outreach with youth.
The K-9 unit is always a hit with kids! Ask officers to do an exhibition on Build Day as part of the children's activities.
Gain police buy-in on the importance of safe play and ask them to patrol the playground site during pre-build
and Build Days and include the playground in their regular patrols to help keep it safe, clean, and open.
See if your department has a Police Athletic Leagues (PAL) chapter. PAL is a youth crime prevention program
that utilizes educational, athletic and recreational activities to create trust and understanding between
police officers and youth. They're a great resource for projects involving and benefiting youth!
You may think that police are enemies of skaters, but in most cases, they're some of the biggest fans of
skateparks! They know that having a safe, designated place for youth to skate means fewer nuisance or
complaint calls for them - so they're happy to help.
Local note: Officer Denise Zentz, Dunkirk Police Department - Dunkirk, New
York
With the growing interest of skateboarding and in-line skating, I needed to take a proactive approach to
ensure that the youth in our community were able to participate in their sport in a safe and suitable
environment. After what seemed like an eternity (2 1/2 years), our community build skatepark project was
completed. Seeing the smiles on their faces as they skated out to the ramps was, as MasterCard would say ...
priceless!
Add more ideas by clicking the "Edit" link above!
