Greater Reading Cops 'n' Kids

Julia Burney founder of
Cops 'n' Kids

The Cops ‘n’ Kids Children’s Literacy Program is a non-profit organization originally founded in November of 1997, by Julia Burney, a police officer for the city of Racine, Wisconsin. The program’s purpose is simple: allow otherwise at-risk or financially constrained children to enrich their minds through the power of reading by providing them with the materials to do so. The program initially began with local police officers distributing these books out of the trunks of their cars to children in the community while on routine patrol.

Through Julia’s work as an officer of the law, she consistently came in contact with many children who had been displaced or inconvenienced either through accidents or civil disturbances in the family. One day Julia was called to a local warehouse to investigate suspicious activity. Once inside the building she noticed storage racks filled with a great number of books and inquired through the owner of the warehouse whether or not the books were being used; eventually taking them as a donation. This was the perfect start to making her concept of Cops ‘n’ Kids a reality.

Word of the program’s initial success in Wisconsin began to spread and local and national organizations, including Oprah’s Angel Network, pitched in to not only help the local children of Racine, but focus much needed national attention on this pressing issue. Local communities all over the country, including the Greater Reading area, are now committed to making this program a complete success in their hometown.