As Cpl. Jayson Hansen stands outside town hall in Saint Andrews, he is approached by a young man with a dream of one day becoming a police officer.
It’s a fitting connection given the RCMP’s efforts to collect school supplies for kids in the community.
“This is our cops for classrooms program,” Hansen said. “This is a new initiative that was started by our Acting District Commander [Insp.] Mike Barry. We want to gather up clothing and school supplies for kids in the class.”
The southwest New Brunswick RCMP knew that anticipated strong support from Charlotte County and so three events were held in St. Stephen, Eastern Charlotte and Saint Andrews.
“When Community Program Officer Lisa Williams heard about it, she knew that Charlotte County would step up, as they always do, to support the cause,” a statement from the RCMP said.
Hansen said it is harder for children and families to afford the cost of living, especially related to back-to-school items.
“It creates kind of an imbalance if some kids have it and some don’t,” he said. “We also want to make schooling better for kids because the longer they stay in school the better their outcomes and less likely to be involved in crime.”
Cpl. Peter Lambert was part of the booth in St. Stephen. In Eastern Charlotte, former St. George mayor Faith Avery stepped up to help the initiative. Meanwhile, in Saint Andrews, Sgt. Chris Henderson and Cpl. Jayson Hansen helped on site.
“We were able to raise $1075 for the purchase of lots of supplies for the schools in this region,” said a statement from Williams, in regards to their efforts in Eastern Charlotte.
The items and donations collected in Eastern Charlotte will go toward St. George Elementary, Back Bay Elementary, Blacks Harbour School and Deer Island Community School. In St. Stephen, it will be given to St Stephen Elementary and Milltown Elementary. Back in Saint Andrews, the supplies will be given to Vincent Massey Elementary School.
“It’s about community engagement and in an indirect way we [have] crime prevention,” Hansen said. “It’s very heartening to see … it’s very much appreciated and hopefully we have a good school year.”
