After it was canceled last year, a Keizer camp aiming to foster connections between students and first responders is back this summer.
BLAST Camp, which stands for Bringing Law Enforcement and Students Together, will be open to students entering grades 4 to 6. Scheduled to start Monday, June 29, and go three days, the camp will offer an obstacle course, arts and crafts, K-9 demonstrations and more.
Alejandra Gallegos, Keizer Police Department executive assistant, said that while activities provide safety education, the primary goal is to ensure kids enjoy their time.
“We want it to be interactive and fun for them, not just another day full of lessons, Gallegos said.
The camp was established by the agency in 2014. Gallegos said police do not typically show up on people’s doorsteps for good reasons and the agency wanted to create opportunities for children to have positive relations with police.
This year, Gallegos said the agency, for the first time, is partnering in the camp with the Keizer Fire Department and Marion County Fire District 1. The partnership was spurred because the agencies had similar goals to give students positive experiences with first responders.
Other vendors this year will include Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Salem SWAT and other public safety and community organizations, Gallegos said in an email.
The camp will be held at Claggett Creek Middle School, with student check-in beginning daily at 8:30 a.m. and pick up at 3 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Last year, Gallegos said the camp was cancelled because organizers couldn’t find a location.
Families can register for the camp for free under the police department’s section of the city of Keizer website, and must due so by Monday, June 15.
The agencies are also seeking volunteers to help run the camp. About 50 volunteers are needed, and about half that number have signed up, Gallegos said. Gallegos said anyone in the community is able to volunteer, including high school students. The agencies are primarily searching for people to assist students through their camp activities, and volunteers can be assigned to roles correlated to their interests or skill sets.
Volunteers need to be available for training prior to the camp days. People can register to volunteer through the same website in which families can enroll their kids.
NEWS TIP? Contact reporter Krista Kroiss at [email protected].
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