22.Aug.2011 Cop On Top benefits Special Olympics

The Hawaii Police Department will reach new heights Sept. 16 to 18  to support Special Olympics West Hawaii, a year-round program dedicated to helping children and adults with intellectual disabilities improve their quality of life through sports.

For Cop On Top, local police officers will spend Friday through Sunday in the air on scaffolding at the Walmart on Henry Street in Kailua-Kona. They will rally support and drop buckets below to those passing by for donations to Special Olympics.

This year’s goal is to raise $15,000 and the police officers will sleep on the scaffolding for the three nights — or until the monetary objective is reached.

All funds raised will stay in West Hawaii to be used for the local Special Olympics program and its athletes. Cop On Top is the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Special Olympics West Hawaii is a nonprofit organization that is funded by donations, said Area Director Dave Ross.

The organization helps athletes develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skill and friendship with fellow athletes, families and the community. Its teams compete in area games on the Big Island and Maui in order to qualify for the State Games on Oahu, where Special Olympics teams throughout the Hawaiian Islands compete for medals, Ross said.

Volunteers are needed to solicit donations and give information about Special Olympics at the fundraiser. Those interested in volunteering should contact Nani Lehano at  tlehano@yahoo.com or 430-8689.