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In This Issue...
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Helping our Youth through Special Olympics
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Helping our Youth through Special Olympics
By Santa Cruz County Sheriff Steve Robbins
In addition to fighting crime, officers from the various police agencies in Santa Cruz County volunteer their off-duty time every year to help out local children and adults with developmental disabilities. The Special Olympics, Silicon Valley region, serves over 1,800 clients and provides year-round sports training and competition at no cost to them or their families. About 400 of the athletes live in Santa Cruz County.
Training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports gives them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, coaches, other Special Olympic athletes and the community. These opportunities are all made possible solely through generous financial contributions and dedicated volunteers.
Funds are raised through a variety of activities such as Tip-a-Cop, Truck Pulls, Golf Tournaments, Torch Runs and Jail n’ Bail events.
Recently, members of the community, law enforcement officials, our athletes, Special Olympics volunteers, and I participated in the Jail n’ Bail at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in an attempt to raise $5,000 for Special Olympics.
At the Jail n’ Bail event, we were “locked up” in a makeshift cell and called various friends and community members for “bail” donations to Special Olympics. The last information I received was that we almost hit our goal, having brought in over $4000. Officers and children collected additional donations from people walking past the “jail” at the Beach Boardwalk.
Without the communities’ generosity, there would not be a program for these wonderful athletes. The organization provides swimming, basketball, soccer, bowling, and other athletic programs with the monies donated.
Torch Run Set for June
In addition, Special Olym-pics will continue with other fundraisers, including an upcoming Law Enforcement Torch Run. In northern California, over 3,000 law enforcement officers from federal, state, county and local agencies participate in the Torch run along with the Special Olympics athletes.
This year the Torch Run is scheduled to occur on Monday, June 5 at 8 a.m. from the county line at the Pajaro Bridge in Watsonville where designated runners will take turns running a torch through the County, arriving in Santa Cruz, at Noon. The torch is then passed off and eventually transferred at the Santa Clara County line to other officers.
The Tip-a-Cop fundraisers will occur in various parts of Santa Cruz County. The Sheriff’s Office event is scheduled for Sunday, May 21 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., at Michael’s on Main restaurant in Soquel. Law enforcement will assist waiters at the restaurant and Special Olympics donations will be collected. You can call Michael’s in advance for reservations for that special evening.
As a result of all these fundraisers, the athletes will be able to participate in the Special Olympics Games to be held on June 9 to June 11 at the University of California at Berkeley. The athletes will participate in a variety of sporting events thanks to the generous community donations and incredible volunteers that make this competition possible.
S.A.L. Wants You
I want to also remind you that the Sheriff’s Athletic League (S.A.L.) is seeking volunteer coaches for the upcoming little league baseball season, through the Junior Giants program. In addition to baseball, these S.A.L. volunteers coach surfing and soccer teams during the year. If you have any interest in volunteering for SAL to help our youth or making a donation for uniforms, please contact Sergeant Christine Swannack at the Sheriff’s South County Service Center at 831-763-4420.
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Past stories related to this article...
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Crime Beat | Apr. 4, 2006
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