After hearing about the Kids n' Kops program throughout my last eleven months here at BBBSO, I finally got a chance to participate in this fantastic program.  The experience definitely did not disappoint.  So what is Kids n' Kops you ask?  That's a great question.  The answer is...  

Kids n' Kops is a week for children/youth involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa (BBBSO) to come together and have fun while learning about the police, and firefighters this year, of our city. 

I recognized a few faces during the week and also got to know some new ones since some children/youth who participated in the program have already been matched and some are on our waiting list.  It was great to see how excited everyone was to be part of the camp.  The kids' faces were practically glowing with excitement the very first day when the plain clothed officers showed up.  Throughout the course of the week, the children became friends with the members of the police force while we did some amazing things together like learning how to process a crime scene, firing military issue pellet guns (closely supervised of course) and getting to spray the fire hose.  The latter became a wet and wild experience when one of the kids accidentally let the hose go.  It was great to see the looks on the kids' faces when we toured through the jail at the Ottawa Police station.  They were absolutely appalled at the thought of ever ending up in a cell there.  As with any good camp, there was no shortage of time spent swimming, the highlight of which would have to be the wave pool. 

In case you were thinking that this camp is all fun and games, don't be fooled.  The kids worked hard all week practicing a few military drills which I'm proud to say they showed off beautifully for their audience at the graduation on Parliament Hill. 

Although the overall experience was fantastic, I think that the best part of the week for me was witnessing how the kids reacted to seeing the police officers they had befriended over the week show up in their full uniforms for the first time on the last day.  They were completely awestruck.  The officers were great and explained their whole uniform including demonstrations of all their equipment.

On the last day, staff and members of the police forces said goodbye to some pretty tired kids who had had a very positive experience with the police in their community and who had gained insight into the world of policing and firefighting.   

The entire BBBSO team would like to express sincere BIG thanks to everyone who helped with this camp and especially to the members of the police forces that spent the week being mentors to some eager kids.