LA FOP  Special Interest

Improving Our Communities

Our members are active and retired police and deputies who work and live in Louisiana. We have a vested interest in fostering relationships with law enforcement-related agencies, as well as those with our neighbors. Many of the State Lodge's special projects reflect that belief.

Among the many worthy causes the Louisiana FOP supports are:

• Special Olympics
• Easter Seals
• DWI awareness campaign
• Louisiana Law Enforcement Family Support Program

Louisiana Special Olympics

The Louisiana State Lodge wholeheartedly back the Louisiana Special Olympics. As a continuous contributor, the State Lodge has given over $15,000 over the last five years.

By participating as a statewide sponsor, the Fraternal Order of Police has received increase good-will publicity and enhanced public relations. The Louisiana Lodge's logo is prominently displayed on all Torch Run T-shirts, escort vehicles, Press Conferences, posters, brochures, certificates, plaques, and registration material distributed throughout the state.

Prior to the annual Louisiana Special Olympics Summer Games, law enforcement officers from across the state participate in a multiple-day run to carry the Olympic Torch -- "Flame of Hope" -- to raise the awareness level of the Louisiana citizens to the year-round sports training and competition opportunities offered by Special Olympics. The Louisiana Law Enforcement Torch Run for the benefit of Special Olympics has been held each year since 1985.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run is an international series of relay-type runs held in every U.S. state and 15 foreign countries to benefit Special Olympics.

Each year, over 2,000 local, parish, state and federal law enforcement officers cover some 1,000 miles of Louisiana's roads, highways and interstates, as each route progresses toward the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Games, to be held on the Tulane University campus in New Orleans.

The money raised through the Law Enforcement Torch Run is used to help pay for athletes' meals, insurance, training facilities, housing, equipment, coaches training clinics and all other components involved in conducting a year-round, high-quality sports training and competition program for our 12,000 currently enrolled athletes. It also helps Louisiana Special Olympics outreach efforts to attract the 29,000 plus individuals with mental disabilities who are waiting on the sidelines.

A little more than a quarter of a century ago, a dream was on the horizon. That vision was Special Olympics and the person who would give birth to it -- Eunice Kennedy Shriver sister of President John F. Kennedy. Dedication and family commitment to a mentally challenged sister became the driving force behind Ms. Shriver's aspiration when she began a day camp for 100 local children and adults with mental disabilities at her home in Maryland. Her efforts and determination put into action the long-standing interest of the Kennedy Family Foundation in the therapeutic effects of physical fitness and sports on individuals with mental disabilities.

In the summer of 1968, Ms. Shriver's vision of Special Olympics became a reality when the first International Special Olympics Games were held at Soldier's Field in Chicago. One-thousand individuals with mental disabilities from the United States and Canada traveled to Chicago and competed in track & field and swimming events.

The Games were an enormous success and led, in the following year, to the establishment of a non-profit corporation -- Special Olympics International, Inc. and the creation of a Special Olympics Chapter in every state in the United States, Canada and France.

By 1988, Special Olympics International was recognized and endorsed by the International Olympic Committee, becoming the premiere worldwide organization of sports training and athletic competition for people with mental disabilities.

Today, Special Olympics has become known throughout the world in helping to discover the remarkable resources, talent, determination and abilities of individuals with mental handicaps. It is an international movement in which athletes with mental disabilities are athletically trained and coached year-round by hundreds of thousands of volunteers.

No person is too handicapped to take part in Special Olympics. Programs now exist in over 140 countries, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and four United States Territories.

The oath adopted in the first International Special Olympics Games was "Let Me Win. But If I Cannot Win Let Me Be Brave In the Attempt." The oath is still echoed today, but its volume and impact have grown dramatically.

Since the inception of Special Olympics, year-round sports training and athletic competition have been offered to all Louisiana citizens with mental disabilities. Thirteen of the 1,000 pioneer athletes attending those first International Special Olympics Games in 1968 were from the Belle Chasse State School in Plaquemine Parish, La.

Currently, more than 12,000 individuals with mental disabilities participate in Louisiana Special Olympics year-round sports training and athletic competition program.

Everyday Louisiana Special Olympics athletes draw upon their physical and spiritual resources to win in the game of life. A balance of human and financial resources make it possible for current and future athletes to achieve their personal best, both on and off the playing fields. That balance includes the time and dedication of more than 6,000 volunteer coaches, 12,000-plus other volunteers and an annual fundraising goal of $1.6 million for Louisiana Special Olympics.

No costs have ever been imposed on Louisiana Special Olympics athletes or their families. To continue to operate in this manner, Louisiana Special Olympics depends upon the cash and in-kind donations of its many generous sponsors to fund its year-round program, area and statewide competitions.

Louisiana Special Olympics athletes have the opportunity to participate in 23 Olympic-type and demonstration sports: alpine skiing, aquatics (swimming & diving), athletics (track & field), badminton, basketball, bocce, bowling, canoeing, croquet, cycling, equestrian, golf, gymnastics, horseshoes, Nordic skiing, power lifting, roller skating, sailing, soccer, softball, team handball, tennis and volleyball.

At the area and local events, Louisiana Special Olympics athletes not only vie for a medal or ribbon, they also compete for the opportunity to be challenged at a higher level -- one of the four statewide competitions. Competitors and high achievers from the statewide competitions have the opportunity to brave yet another challenge -- the International Special Olympics Games.

Easter Seals

Easter Seals is among the organizations that the Louisiana FOP generously supports. Each year, Local Lodges host events to raise money for the state's branch.

For more than 80 years, Easter Seals has helped people with disabilities in communities nationwide. From creating the first national voluntary agency to speak and act on behalf of children with disabilities in the 1920s, to leading the creation and implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the 1990s, Easter Seals continues to be an integral part of life, helping more than a million people gain greater independence each year. One in every five Americans has a disability, and Easter Seals is there with expert help, hope and humanity.

To learn more about the organization, visit the Easter Seals web site.

DWI Awareness Campaign

In recent years, the number of intoxicated driveres has increased across the country. Subsequently, law enforcement officers are answering more and more fatality calls needlessly caused by someone who had one too many drinks and decided to get behind the wheel of an automobile.

To draw awareness to this alarming problem, the Louisiana State Lodge launched a DWI Awareness Campaign. Local Lodges throughout the state were given full-color bumper stickers to distribute. The stickers bear the message, "Drinking and Driving Kills," along with the FOP logo. Also, billboards across the state reminded drivers of the State FOP's concern.

Drunk driving is a selfish, preventable crime. It affects people from every ethnic, social, political and religious group. It robs its victims of their most precious possession -- their lives -- and it leaves a wake of lifelong pain survivors must endure. None of us, as professional law enforcement officers, want to notify a family member of a death of a loved one, especially when it could have been prevented.

On behalf of all the members of the Louisiana State FOP Lodge, please remember drinking and driving does kill. If you or someone you know is intoxicated, don't get behind the wheel.

For more information on this deadly crime, visit the Mothers Against Drunk Driving web site.

Louisiana Law Enforcement Family Support Program (LLEFSP)

5515 Superior Dr., Baton Rouge

The Louisiana Law Enforcement Family Support Program (LLEFSP) has been helping law enforcement officers and their family members since 1995.

The program provides a range of services including peer support, counseling, family support and other services needed in times of crisis.

Along with other agencies, the State Lodge provided financial support to get things off the ground.

Since services are provided confidentially, LLEFSP doesn't advertise its good works as other programs do. But there are several things you should know.

A group of law enforcement administrators mental health professionals and a select few businessmen formed the Southern Law Enforcement Foundation (SLEF). The Foundation's primary mission is to support the continuing work of LLEFSP.

The Foundation is governed by an 11-member board of directors, consisting of a majority of senior police officers who understand the need for service delivery.

A portion of the cost associated with delivering services to victims of crime comes from grants.

"I believe we are head and shoulders above most other states across the country in providing much need critical incident stress and peer support services to police officers and their family members in time of crisis," said Russell Trapp, who oversees the program. "I have to say, it's really nice to be first in something good for as change in this state."

The concept's catching on, too. The National Lodge has plans to develop a national strategy to implement such a program with Lodges across the country.

"I can't think of a more worthwhile project for the National FOP to become involved with. It's simply a program of 'Cops Helping Cops' in times of need," Trapp said.