|
This grant will supply eight (8) duffel bags costing $252 each containing books, stuffed animals, stickers and other child oriented items for use by Yavapai County, AZ, sheriff deputies with children who are experiencing traumatic situations such as serious accidents or domestic violence.
The Yavapai County sheriff's office primarily services the rural areas of the county where on-the-scene trauma relief personnel are not readily available to address the needs of children in crisis situations. Having a "Books to the Rescue" duffel readily available will help to ameliorate this predicament.
This is a joint Rotary club project involving all five clubs in D-5490, Area 5 contributing $200 each: Prescott-Frontier Rotary will act as the lead club, with the Prescott, Prescott-Sunup, Chino Valley and Prescott Valley Rotary clubs also contributing $200 each.
The books, etc. supply joy, escape, comfort, and reassurance to a young person in crisis. The child is focussed on the item(s), not what is going on with adults, thus calming the child and allowing other officers on the scene to do their work more effectively. This scenario also has the potential of allowing the child, if necessary, to be questioned and provides a more positive feeling of law enforcement personnel and changes a child's frame of reference towards first responders. Studies have also shown that when tramatic events are ameliorated at an early age, children are more likely to grow up to be contributing members of society.
Books to the Rescue has been endorsed by the office of Yavapai County Sheriff Scott Masher. It is the goal of Books to the Rescue project coordinator Jasmine Castigliano to eventually place a duffel in every one of the two-hundred Yavapai County sheriff deputy patrol vehicles.
Other county and state organizations that are collaborating with Books to the Rescue include the Firefighter Angel Foundation, West Yavapai Guidance Clinic, Arizona Department of Child Safety, and Yavapai Tribal Social Services. Community Counts of Prescott Valley (a 501-C-3 non-profit charitable organization), an umbrella organization that establishes and manages community programs that serve youth, families and individuals, serves as the fiscal agent for "Books to the Rescue".
| 
