On September 18, 2013, personnel from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Departments Parks Bureau, Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, and seventy-one children got together for the annual "Stars on the Baseball Diamond" event at Athens Park (12603 South Broadway, Los Angeles, 90061).
The children participating in the event ranged in age of 6-14 years old. They were tested in three different categories of baseball skills. They threw and hit the baseball for distance and ran the bases for the best time. The children received certificates for their participation. The event is held on the renovated Dodgers Dream Fields that came together through a partnership of the Los Angeles Dodgers Dream Foundation, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation.
The event helps strengthen the bonds between the Parks Bureau and the children in the community. An event such as this is a good time that the children can enjoy with the deputies and get to know them on a more personal basis. It is not the traumatic event that more often than not, those deputies are called upon to handle and can sometimes be the child's only contact with the deputy.
Parks Bureau Commander Captain Stephen Smith said, "It's important for the Community and members of our department to come together in events such as these." "We get to know the community and they get to know us on a personal level which helps foster a level of trust and familiarity that only activities like this can bring."
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Departments Parks Bureau is dedicated to providing a safe and drug free environment at all Los Angeles County Parks.
Providing Public Safety for Parks
Stars on the Baseball Diamond
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