FAIRFIELD COUNTY – In July the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office will hold its 17th annual kids’ camp, a three-day summer camp event for kids from around the county ages 8-13.
The event, which is already full for this year, gives 40 kids the opportunity to enjoy activities that they might otherwise not get to, like bowling at a local bowling alley, jumping at a trampoline park, and swimming at the county’s pool, and also meet and greet with firefighters, county officials, and others who impact the community.
School resource officers staff the camp.
“Law enforcement’s here to help, not hinder,” says Sgt. Ron Mull, who runs the community policing division of the sheriff’s office.
“That’s the reason why school resource officers are called school resource officers… They’re called resources for a reason, and we hope that if kids need help, they can come to them for a resource, because we know where to go to get the help that they need, and we can be advocates for them too.”
Mull says his division represents “the softer side of policing,” and handles community interactions like checking on the elderly, speaking to churches and community groups, helping with community events, and running the three-day summer camp each year.
The event was started 19 years ago, Mull says, but because it had to take a two-year break during the Covid-19 pandemic, this is its 17th year.
It began, he says, when the sheriff’s deputy who ran the community policing division at that time, Cpl. Melissa Cooper, saw a need for something for kids to do in the summer – and, with the blessing of then-Sheriff Herman Young, the annual event began.
Initially, Mull says, it was held at the local armory – but eventually the facility ran out of space. When Mull started running it, he says, he got permission from the Fairfield County School District to begin holding it at one of the schools each year. He says the schools have been very supportive.
The timing is intentional, he says: after summer school is over, but before the school year begins, it gives the kids who participate a chance to relax, have fun, and build positive relationships with their school resource officers and other adults who they might later encounter at school.
Mull says it’s paid for with the help of donations from Fairfield Electric Cooperative and AirCare Heating & Air, as well as some funding and staffing assistance from the county. Local churches (this year First Baptist Church and Gordon Memorial) provide lunches for the kids who participate, and school resource officers staff the camp, often as volunteers.
Mull says some of the kids are selected by school resource officers and guidance counselors, in particular aiming to include those who’ll most benefit from the opportunity for extra connection, mentoring, and access to activities.
One big emphasis, he says: “There are no bad kids, though sometimes kids make bad choices – and the school resource officers aim to help coach them toward making good ones, while also building positive relationships,” Mull said.
Mull has been involved with the kids’ camp for well over a decade. Over the years, he says, these fun events and relationship-building opportunities have helped kids learn to do just that – build relationships. They sometimes come back to visit and report on what they’ve done with their lives.
“We always hope that they become better citizens and productive and stay out of jail… and there’s been a lot of kids, a lot of good kids that might’ve gone the other way, but turned their lives around… and they’ll come back and see us once in a while and say, ‘Hey, remember me?’” he says.
“A lot of them went to college, some of them went to the military. So, if we can continue to help them do that, then we’ve done what we set out to do.”
