Imagine that you’re a police officer, and you want to reach out to a young person you see at a park or playing basketball in front of his house, just to build relationships and change the tone and culture
. You want to let him know you care about him, and that you are there to protect and serve him…but as you approach, you see fear in his eyes. Or maybe its an older teen or young adult, and instead of fear you see suspicion, anger, or defiance.
Now imagine approaching that young person with a ball under your arm and a smile on your face. Immediately the message being sent is one of friendliness, of fun – of connection.
Inspired by the Basketball Cop Foundation, we have started a new initiative called Balls4Connection. We have donated balls to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and Fort Myers Police Department for them to use as a way to make a connection with a young person. Maybe they will give it to a young man to just break the ice and talk…maybe they’ll even shoot around with them. The idea is to break down barriers and make connections to help them all see each other in a different light.
We are accepting donations of new balls or you can make a donation on our website and we will make the purchase ourselves so we can keep this going..
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Since September 1, 2020:
Basketballs donated: 48
Footballs donated: 18