RAYNHAM — Chief James Donovan and School Resource Officer Louis Pacheco are pleased to announce the Raynham Police Department will be wrapping up another successful J.O.C.K.S. Football Camp today.
Raynham Police’s 23rd annual J.O.C.K.S. (Juvenile Organization of Cops and Kids Sports) Football Camp began on Monday, Aug. 9 and will end today at the Merrill Elementary School in Raynham. On Friday, camp-goers will be presented with trophies, certificates, awards, and a pizza party to celebrate the conclusion of the program.
Each year, the camp is offered to children in grades two through eight and is held for two hours every night for one week during the summer.
Throughout the program, 160 elementary and middle school-aged children learned the fundamentals of football and safety practices such as safe tackling forms, concussion prevention techniques, and more from approximately 50 Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School football players.
The program was launched in 1999 by SRO Pacheco after he noticed the costs of youth football rising and more kids having to sit out of programs because families couldn’t afford for them to play. To combat this obstacle and to ensure that every kid who wanted to play in the Raynham Giants Youth Football League had the opportunity to do so, SRO Pacheco started the J.O.C.K.S. Football Camp with the goal of establishing a fund that covered the costs of the youth league for those who couldn’t afford it.
Each year, the $50 registration fee for the J.O.C.K.S. Football Camp is contributed directly to the fund. The money collected from the camp is then dispersed to those in the Raynham Giants Youth Football League who are in need of financial support, and funds are also sometimes used to purchase additional safety equipment when needed and to sponsor kids to go to the J.O.C.K.S. Football Camp as well.
“We launched this program with the philosophy that no athlete should be turned away from participating in youth football due to costs,” said SRO Pacheco. “Over the years this program has grown tremendously and brought our community together to make a difference in the lives of our youth athletes.”
In addition to the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School football players, more than 25 community volunteers participated in this year’s program.
“I want to thank SRO Pacheco and the many volunteers that participated in this year’s J.O.C.K.S. Football Camp,” said Chief Donovan. “It has been a pleasure to host this event for the past 23 years and we look forward to welcoming more young athletes, coaches and volunteers for years to come.”
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