Sponsors needed for at-risk camp

The New Bern Police Department is looking for people to sponsor at-risk children at a three-week camp in June.

Several officers will operate "Cops and Kids," a camp for children ages 9 to 12. The children will learn bike safety, how to get along with people and other skills. Officers will take the campers to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and the IMAX Museum in Raleigh, said Kirsten White, the police department's grants and volunteer coordinator.

"They have an activity every day," White said. "These children are handpicked with input from people like school resource officers. The children wouldn't otherwise get any kind of summer experience outside their neighborhood without the camp program."

The camp, which began in 1994, costs $30 per week per child. White said grants and volunteer programs pay for some of the costs.

"But we're still looking for sponsors," she said.

People who want to sponsor a child can send money or information to the New Bern Police Department, 601 George St., New Bern, NC 28560. White said people should call her at 672-4216 for more information.