Students Dodge Police to Raise Special Funds
The Harding Middle School Leadership Team has been working to fund the purchase of an additional police dog for the Cedar Rapids Police Department’s K-9 Unit. Through donations of change, the service project raised more than $1,400. The final activity gave students a unique opportunity to take on the police officers in a competition. A “Kids Vs Cops” dodge ball tournament matched teams of students and staff members against teams from the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Players and spectators each paid $2 to join the fun. Nearly 200 students played and another 500 friends cheered them all on. In the end, an additional $1000 had been added to the service project collection.
“The K-9 Unit operates entirely on donations,” explained Deb Hess, teacher. “This opportunity to do something for the benefit of others is very worthwhile for students as we help them grown into responsible citizens. They came up with the idea of the dodge ball game and just ran with it.”
“This was great fun!” added CRPD Sgt. Cristy Hamblin. “This was one of the few times that the kids were encouraged to dodge the cops – all for a great cause.”