Monday, November 10, 2025
46 ° Cloudy
46 ° Cloudy
Cops ‘n’ Kids Delaware Valley, a local nonprofit organization that provides free books to children, presented the Lower Makefield Township Police Department with a certificate of appreciation in early September for the department’s ongoing commitment to collecting books for children at the police station. The books are ultimately distributed directly to children and their families throughout communities in Lower Bucks County.
“From 2017 until now, Lower Makefield Township Police Department was willing to put a donation bin here at the station,” notes Mary Auker, president of Cops ‘n’ Kids local chapter based in Yardley. “Over the years, it has become one of the most popular donation sites. More than 8,000 books have come through these doors. They are really great about maintaining, calling and reaching out when the bin is full. They make sure we get what’s been donated.”
Cops ‘n’ Kids Delaware Valley’s mission is to connect kids with the community through literacy and by encouraging positive interaction with police, firefighters and community leaders. The organization fulfills its mission through community support and the work of approximately 40 volunteers who collect, sort, clean and distribute the donated books as well as read to children and participate in literacy projects in area schools. Currently, they are serving all Pre-K Counts classes in the Pennsbury and Bristol Borough School Districts.
Lower Makefield Township’s chief of police, Joseph Kelly, noted the importance of working with nonprofits such as Cops ‘n’ Kids to send a positive message to children.
“My philosophy is the more contacts we have in non-emergency situations, the better off we’re going to be. It’s a bonus when we get to have contact with children because we build relationships with them that last a lifetime,” says Chief Kelly. He said the police department’s officers are present to greet children at every public and private school in the township at the start of each school year.
“We greet the kids on their way back to school because those small contacts we have, even the high fives going into school, do matter,” says Chief Kelly. “When we have a chance to sit down and read books to these children and develop relationships with them and show them that the police officer is someone you shouldn’t be afraid of, but that you should trust. It’s a win-win for both of us.”
Julia Burney, a former police officer in Racine, Wisconsin, is credited for founding the original chapter of Cops ‘n’ Kids. “The officer had gone out on a burglary call which turned out to be a false alarm. She ended up at a warehouse which was full of children’s books that were about to be incinerated because of slight imperfections. She asked if she could have the books and that was the birth of Cops ‘n’ Kids,” explains Mary. “The officer began handing out books to children on street corners or when she went out on domestic calls. Later, she went on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. Oprah gave her $100,000 to start a reading room in Racine that is still very active today,” Mary notes. Cops ‘n’ Kids chapters are now in numerous communities throughout the United States and internationally.
“The beauty of it is that it is not trademarked so it can be tailored to meet the needs of the particular community it’s in. So, we try very hard to meet the needs of the children in the communities within Bucks County,” Mary says.
In addition to the Lower Makefield Township Police Department collection site, book bins are placed at numerous sites throughout the area including: Morrisville Municipal Building, Newtown Athletic Club (NAC), Middletown Township Municipal Building and in Bristol Borough at the Snyder-Girotti School and Grundy Library.
Cops ‘n’ Kids Delaware Valley volunteers routinely attend community-based events such as the Yardley-Makefield Fire Company open house, the Charlann Farm Events and National Night Out in Middletown Township
“Events give us the opportunity to build awareness for our initiative: get books into the hands of children to help build their home libraries and to spark future donations,” Mary notes.
“We’re fully committed to any program where we can contact people in a non-emergent situation,” says Chief Kelly. “It’s frustrating for us because most of the people we see are going through the worst days of their lives. So, we look for ways in which we can contact the people we serve and establish relationships with them. That’s why we are fully supportive of Cops ‘n’ Kids,” he adds.
For more information, to volunteer or to donate books or funds, visit copsnkidsdelval.org, email president@copsnkidsdelval.org or ‘like’ Cops ‘n’ Kids Delaware Valley on Facebook.
