At This Summer Camp, Kids And Cops Build Bonds For Better Communities

The “arts and crafts” program at this California summer camp features the art of building relationships between cops and communities, and crafting a brighter future for at-risk kids.

Sixty-five kids, ages 11-13 attended this year’s “Camp Chance,” a free, five-day summer camp designed to build bridges between cops and the most at-risk kids in their districts.

There’s the usual activities like swimming and sports, but the kids also get to hang out with police officers and get to know them better.

Campers got to meet K-9 officers and their dogs, watched a police helicopter touch down in the camp, hang out with firefighters who visited with their trucks, and the see a search and rescue demonstration up close.

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Camp Chance was created by the San Rafael Police Department with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office and the Marin County Office of Education.

Rebecca Kuga, the San Rafael PD youth services supervisor runs Camp Chance. She says when kids are connected with their communities and build relationships with police officers, they’re less likely to be destructive as teens.

Past campers are living proof of that idea.

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Sixteen-year-old David Bosshard attended the camp when he was younger, and was back this year as a counselor. His father has been in and out of jail throughout David’s life, and he credits the camp for giving him a focus for his future.

“The program changed my life,” David told the Marin Independent Journal. “I had no plan as to what my future would be. After my first time at Camp Chance, I knew I wanted to be involved in law enforcement.”

(READ more at the Marin Independent Journal) — Photo: Camp Chance, Facebook

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