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The children are what the Law Enforcement Youth Camp is all about. The kids who are selected to attend camp are nine and ten year old boys and girls who come from elementary schools throughout Tacoma and Pierce County. They may be kids at risk, abused kids, kids from low-income families, or kids from single parent families. The names of kids who may benefit from this camp experience come from recommendations made by school administrators, school teachers, and school psychologists. These recommendations come in the form of letters from area elementary schools to the camp, or by officers actually contacting the schools and working with them in the selection process. Selected children take part in a variety of activities at camp. Their day begins at 7:00am with reveille and ends after campfire at 10:00pm. They have a full day of activities including swimming in Sunset Lake, horseback riding, archery, fishing, a whiffleball tournament, and campfire skits and songs. The kids are given a chance to see police officers and deputy sheriff's in roles they may never have seen them in. Many of the kids who attend camp have never seen police officers up close, and may have had negative experiences, or may have negative opinions. This gives the kids a chance to see that officers have lives that include families, hobbies and activities outside of law enforcement.
Once the kids are selected there is no cost to the families. They are taken to camp, the Baconbowl, a Christmas Party at Chuck E. Cheese, and to an inner-tube snow day at Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. Community donations, private donations, and fundraisers accomplish all this. |