Big Brothers Big Sisters Lacombe and District celebrated the end of Kids & Kops Day Camp on Thursday, July 13 with a small get together at Casey’s Cabin in Lacombe. All of the little cops on both the red team and blue team were given certificates after a 4-day long camp alongside the Lacombe Police Services, Blackfalds RCMP, and Blackfalds Peace Officers.  

“It was absolutely phenomenal. You see the youth come in on the first day being very shy, very intimated and not sure how to connect with the officers... To today's graduation and seeing their excitement and their understanding of what the police force looks like and how they try to keep people protected. They're human themselves, and it's just such a fun journey this week,” explained Breanna Berthiaume, Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters.  

In total, 24 youth participated from both Lacombe and Blackfalds. In the day camp, the kids were taking part in different scenarios, watching movies, having paddleboat races, taking part in police dog training and more. The youth came from both the Blackfalds and Lacombe Communities.  

Berthiaume says the event would not be able to run without the cooperation of all the volunteers who take part over the week. She estimates over 500 volunteer hours go into the event.  

Kids & Kops is unique to the Lacombe and District Big Brothers and Big Sisters but is something Berthiaume would like to see expand other organizations.  

“[The kids are] understanding other perspectives and problem solving. They learn and communicate when they're talking on the walkie talkies like just all of the growth you're going to see through a week of summer camps working with police officers is outstanding,” she added.  

Kids & Kops will be Berthiaume’s final event this year as she takes a temporary leave from her role as Executive Director for a maternity leave. In her place, Jen Harty will be acting as Interim Executive Director.  

“I have lots of support from Brianna and our Board of Directors and just others in the community. I'm just looking forward to continuing to work with everyone in the community, our funders, partners, and just our team,” said Harty 

In the meantime, Berthiaume is looking forward to seeing some new ideas in the coming months from her team.