Bangor and UMaine police departments offer Kids ‘n’ Kops trading cards promoting healthy messages for youths
The Bangor and University of Maine police departments have launched a new Kids ‘n’ Kops trading card program intended to raise awareness about bullying and substance abuse prevention among elementary and middle school youngsters.
The series of 14 trading cards features male and female UMaine student-athletes who play Division I sports at the state’s flagship university. Members of the Bangor and UMaine police departments will distribute the cards at community events, including university athletic games at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor and on campus.
Youngsters can collect five cards and bring them to one of the two police departments for a free Kids ‘n’ Kops T-shirt and two tickets to a UMaine basketball game.
The goal, say the organizers, is to foster positive interactions between police officers and youths, and reinforce important messages about health and well-being.
“We are pleased to be part of a program that promotes an active lifestyle for the youngsters in our community by using student-athletes as an example of hard work and healthy choices,” says Bangor Police Chief Mark Hathaway. “We appreciate our partnership with UMaine and thank the UMaine student-athletes for their participation.”
“We want to be proactive in promoting quality goals for healthy living to young people, many of whom we hope will be future UMaine Black Bears,” says UMaine Police Chief Roland LaCroix. “It’s important that youths know that police officers can be helpful resources and UMaine student-athletes are role models they can look up to.”
In 1986–88, a similar program called Kids & Kops, spearheaded by then-UMaine men’s basketball coach and UMaine alumnus Skip Chappelle, featured UMaine and other area law enforcement officials distributing trading cards as part of an anti-drug campaign. Those trading cards also featured UMaine student-athletes, several of whom went on to professional sports careers.
“We believe in the long-term value of a program that brings together the youth of our community and the police,” says Chappelle, who is helping coordinate this campaign with another UMaine alumnus — Irv Marsters, owner of Bangor Letter Shop. “This program also communicates the messages of health and well-being through sports.”
Maine Savings Federal Credit Union is a corporate sponsor of this year’s Kids ‘n’ Kops campaign.
Contact: Skip Chappelle, 207.944.8089