Oregon City Optimist Club honors police for supporting youth

One of the purposes of an Optimist Club and Optimist International is to inspire respect for the law. With that goal in mind, Optimist International developed a program called - you guessed it -   Respect for Law.

The developers of the Respect for Law program envisioned Optimist Clubs as being a middleman, a group that connected children with first responders in order to give them a positive interaction with a police officer. Some programs were quite involved, including trips to a prison with a scared straight theme for children at risk of becoming repeat offenders. Other programs took a milder approach, taking students on field trips to the city, county, or state government buildings where the children would interact with police officers and lawmakers. Some would merely hold a breakfast or lunch where the officers and students would eat together and perhaps play a game.

Over the years, the Respect for Law program has become more of a recognition event, especially in the Pacific Northwest District. Among the Optimist Clubs that have Respect for Law programs are the Roseburg Optimist Club, the Gresham Optimist Club, and the Oregon City Optimist Club. All are major events for the respective clubs.

Please enjoy the photos shared by the Oregon City Optimist Club from its Respect for Law Meeting held June 11, 2019, and note, if you will, the line that says, "Thank you, Officer Plummer, for supporting the kids the way you do."

Yes, the Oregon City Optimist Club and Police Department are real friends of youth.