Cops 'N' Kids 'N' Reading

Police Collect New and Gently Used Books for Neighborhood Kids

In 1997, Racine, Wisconsin, police officer Julia Burney (now Burney-Witherspoon) responded to a burglar alarm. It was a false alarm, but she found a warehouse stuffed with 10,000 children's books that were headed for the shredder because of small printing or binding imperfections.

"I thought the heavens had opened up for me," she recalls.

Her work had taken her into many Racine homes, and she had been struck by the lack of children's books. Soon, she and her fellow officers were carrying books in the trunks of their squad cars and giving them away to children. The original 10,000-volume stockpile went fast, and children clamored for more, so the police started collecting books.

That was the birth of Cops 'n' Kids, a program now in about 70 cities and towns across the country. The program was adopted by the service organization Quota International, whose local chapters are busy planting new Cops 'n' Kids programs in their communities.

In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, NEA-Retired member Beverly Bradley heads up an effort that has so far distributed more than 160,000 new and gently used volumes. Her group is based in the former Bethlehem Steel headquarters.

"It's a chameleon kind of program," says Bradley. "It can be adapted to fit any community concerned with children and literacy."

Her program maintains well-stocked bookshelves in police stations where children can come in and choose a book for themselves and meet the police at the same time. The program also distributes books in many other locations and at special events.

"When I started, I thought it would be one day a week—my Thursday project," says Bradley. "Now, when we go to a Cops 'n' Kids event on a Sunday, my husband likes to say, 'Is today Thursday again?'"

To get involved with Cops 'n' Kids for your area, contact Julia Burney-Witherspoon at (262) 632-1606 or send her an e-mail. You can reach Beverly Bradley by e-mail as well.

Read more at the Cops 'n' Kids Web site .