

Contra Costa Kops for Kids is connecting at-risk youth with retired and active law enforcement officers through sport clinics, presentations and educational activities.

The aim of the nonprofit group is to help youth make positive choices in their lives while avoiding drugs, gangs and criminal activity. Kops for Kids has been around for two decades and is active throughout Contra Costa County. Programs focus on “kids who are in troubled areas or who are susceptible to gang influence and drug influence,” said Pittsburg police Sgt. Chuck Blazer, a Kops for Kids board member. “It’s everything from working on engines, to fixing cars, to riding bikes, to running, to golf, you name it.”

Through the group’s Youth Mentoring Program, grants are given to support various sports and educational activities staffed by active and retired law enforcement officers. One such activity is Foot Pursuit, a running club for Pittsburg High students. Grant money is used to pay club member’s entry fees for running events and to buy running shoes.

“It’s geared more for kids who aren’t necessarily participants in structured sports at the school, but maybe have an interest in health and/or physical activity,” said Pittsburg police officer Heidi Maguire. Maguire and three Pittsburg High teachers act as advisers to the club, which started three years ago.

Club members work out, go on hikes, learn about nutrition and participate in running events such as the Rugged Maniac obstacle course held at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.

“We laugh a lot because there’s a lot of falling and a lot of fun,” Maguire said.

Other events include the Mount Diablo Trails Challenge, a Halloween run, and benefit run for Kops for Kids.

Another grant recipient is the small engine mechanics course offered at the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility in Byron.

“Incarcerated kids are learning (about) engines so that when they get out they can get jobs in the automotive industry,” said Blazer, the Kops for Kids board member. “We almost lost that one a few years back because they didn’t have any electricity to the building. We ended up donating to get electricity running in the building and kept it alive.”

Other recent grant recipients include the Bay Point and Martinez/Pacheco bicycle rodeos sponsored by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office; the Olympic Track Clinic organized by local Olympic gold medalist Eddie Hart; and the Oakley Police Explorer Post among others.

Over the years, Kops for Kids has given more than $100,000 in grants to activities associated with its Youth Mentoring Program. Sports clinics in softball, basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming and soccer and other activities are also provided at schools that don’t have physical education or sports programs.

Another avenue of outreach is a Positive Mental Attitudes presentation given at middle schools and high schools that reach about 7,000 kids a year.

“We go around to different schools and talk to kids about how to stay out of gangs, how to think about getting a job, how to be aware of drugs. Just different things about being confident in yourself and if you choose to do something, make sure it’s your choice and not somebody pressuring you or bullying you into it,” Blazer said.

To help support its programs, Kops for Kids relies on yearly fundraisers. One of them is the Kops for Kids Run/Walk and Roll Races on April 28. Another is the Kops for Kids Golf Classic tournament on Aug. 27. For more information about Kops for Kids, call 925-827-1998 or go to www.contracostakopsforkids.org