400 Belize City Students Receive Back-to-School Boost
As the new school year gets underway, almost four hundred students in need are getting a helping hand from a community partnership focused on education. This evening, the Rotary Club of Belize, working alongside the Belize Police Department and the Leadership Intervention Unit, distributed school bags to young students from at risked neighborhoods in Belize City. Among those offering words of encouragement were Police Commissioner Dr. Richard Rosado and Crime Stoppers Belize CEO Lauren Smith, who urged the children to focus on their education and avoid negative influences.
Richard Rosado
Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police
“Our community policing officers, I was made to understand, went into our communities, listened to families, identified young people with potential. We saw children who deserve opportunities to succeed. We made a commitment we will not allow you to be left behind. Today is more than school bags. It represent that we all believe in you, and we want you to never forget that, that we believe in you. Life may present challenges but your circumstances do not have to be determined – do not have to determine your destiny.”
Lauren Smith
Lauren Smith, CEO, Crime Stoppers Belize
“Can I also have a round of applause to all your community police? Yes. They’ve done a great job. And most importantly, I wanna say a big thank you from you to the commissioner for his initiative helping you guys stay in school. These school bags are filled with so many things like blanks, pens, pencils, crayons for the high schoolers, calculators, rulers. Everything that you need to stay in school, that bag has it. So take care of it, mine it, and let it be your success.”
The school bag drive was made possible by donations from a number of businesses across the city.
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