Police Trading Cards Are Coming to Denville Township
Posted by Mary Radicsh on Mar 21, 2017
Denville Rotary has partnered with the Denville Township Police Department to bring Police Trading Cards to Denville. Officers of Denville Rotary, Mary Radicsh, Rita Ambrosi and Betsy Roberts, presented the idea to Police Chief Christopher Wagner in late September, 2016 and were met with great enthusiasm and support. Chief Wagner indicated he wanted to make the Trading Card Program available but had not yet found a vehicle to do so. The perfect partnership was formed. The program is well underway. Officers have submitted their biographies, all officer photos have been taken by Jody Johnson of Glide by JJ and an exciting kickoff event is being planned.
The Trading Card Program is designed to promote a long lasting, positive relationship between our local police officers and the youth of our community. The program is only possible through this partnership and with the support and positive outlook of each individual officer as well as the parents who will assist their children in collecting the full set of cards. Program Sponsorships and Individual Police Officer Sponsorships are available to help defray the cost of providing this very worthwhile program to the community.
The primary goal of the Trading Card Program is to help our children understand that police officers are friendly, approachable and are always ready to be of help when needed.
The program is modeled after the practice of collecting baseball cards. Every police officer in Denville Township will receive one thousand baseball cards with his picture, badge number and a brief autobiography. The children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade will be challenged to collect the complete set of thirty-one trading cards. They will be required to approach each individual police officer and ask them for their card. When approached, the officers will engage the children in a friendly dialog promoting a positive relationship and a level of comfort and trust. Each time a child meets another officer, their level of trust will grow.
The Trading Card Program will begin on May 16th with a kickoff event at Gardner Field. May 14th through May 20th is National Police Week so this is perfect timing for such a wonderful community occurrence. All children who participate will receive a wristband representing the “Thin Blue Line”. Chief Wagner has some exciting activities planned for the kickoff event which will put a smile on the faces of kids of all ages. Children in each of the three elementary schools and the middle school who complete the set of 31 trading cards in first, second and third place will receive an exciting prize provided by Denville Rotary and the generosity of sponsors. The first prizes will be awarded at the Junior Police Academy graduation ceremony on July 14th. The program will conclude on August 30th. Although the police officers can continue to hand out their cards, no prizes will be awarded after this date.
Anyone who would like to become involved and be recognized as a sponsor of the Trading Card Program should contact Mary Radicsh at 973-476-1639 or Betsy Roberts at 973-945-9799 for details. Show your support for the Denville Township Police Department and help Denville Rotary provide this exciting community service program for the resident children of Denville. We hope to see you at the kickoff on May 16th!