When COVID-19 changed the face of community service in 2020, the Appleton-Fox Cities Kiwanis Club began looking for new projects that would fulfill the Kiwanis mission while providing social distancing and/or a virtual component. District Governor Jean Long Manteufel’s Kiwanis ‘n Cops ‘n Kids Governor’s project affords clubs the opportunity to perform pandemic-proof service.
When COVID-19 changed the face of community service in 2020, the Appleton-Fox Cities Kiwanis Club began looking for new projects that would fulfill the Kiwanis mission while providing social distancing and/or a virtual component. District Governor Jean Long Manteufel’s Kiwanis ‘n Cops ‘n Kids Governor’s project affords clubs the opportunity to perform pandemic-proof service.
Founded by retired police officer Julia Witherspoon, the Cops ‘n Kids program promotes children’s literacy and community trust in law enforcement. The goal of Cops ‘n Kids is to improve the reading skills of children by introducing them to the adventure and creativity that comes from reading. The program was a perfect match for the Kiwanis club and members quickly went to work.
On October 7, 2020, Kiwanians dedicated a little library reading spot at the Community Early Learning Center in Appleton and held a book reading with Appleton police officer Meghan Cash. The inaugural reading was special to members because “Meadowborough Tales” — the book that Officer Cash read — was written by club member A.L. Malcom. It was a great start to the project.
Since the first little library dedication and reading, the club has installed a second little library packed with children’s books at the Thompson Center in Appleton and has distributed more than 300 books to children. The Appleton Police Department has created video recordings of police officers (and soon a few fire fighters) reading books which they (with author permission) post on a YouTube channel for virtual readings of the books that the club donates to children.
One of the club’s recent book distributions was in cooperation with a YMCA after school program. The following message, provided by the YMCA coordinator, illustrates why the Cops ‘n Kids program is important to the children in the community. “I have had several of my children have negative experiences with police in their lives where either their family members are taken away or they were taken from their family. The police are not seen in a positive light for some of even the smallest kiddos. I look forward to being able to bridge that gap for them.”
If your club is interested in starting the Kiwanis ‘n Cops ‘n Kids program in your community, please contact Kiwanis District Governor Jean Long Manteufel’s by phone at 920-585-7769 or by email at jean@longmoving.com. More information on the program can be found on the website at www.kiwanisncopsnkids.org or by searching for the “Kiwanis ‘n Cops ‘n Kids Program” on Facebook.
Founded by retired police officer Julia Witherspoon, the Cops ‘n Kids program promotes children’s literacy and community trust in law enforcement. The goal of Cops ‘n Kids is to improve the reading skills of children by introducing them to the adventure and creativity that comes from reading. The program was a perfect match for the Kiwanis club and members quickly went to work.
On October 7, 2020, Kiwanians dedicated a little library reading spot at the Community Early Learning Center in Appleton and held a book reading with Appleton police officer Meghan Cash. The inaugural reading was special to members because “Meadowborough Tales” — the book that Officer Cash read — was written by club member A.L. Malcom. It was a great start to the project.
Since the first little library dedication and reading, the club has installed a second little library packed with children’s books at the Thompson Center in Appleton and has distributed more than 300 books to children. The Appleton Police Department has created video recordings of police officers (and soon a few fire fighters) reading books which they (with author permission) post on a YouTube channel for virtual readings of the books that the club donates to children.
One of the club’s recent book distributions was in cooperation with a YMCA after school program. The following message, provided by the YMCA coordinator, illustrates why the Cops ‘n Kids program is important to the children in the community. “I have had several of my children have negative experiences with police in their lives where either their family members are taken away or they were taken from their family. The police are not seen in a positive light for some of even the smallest kiddos. I look forward to being able to bridge that gap for them.”
If your club is interested in starting the Kiwanis ‘n Cops ‘n Kids program in your community, please contact Kiwanis District Governor Jean Long Manteufel’s by phone at 920-585-7769 or by email at jean@longmoving.com. More information on the program can be found on the website at www.kiwanisncopsnkids.org or by searching for the “Kiwanis ‘n Cops ‘n Kids Program” on Facebook.