Dallas raised more than $500K for mentoring program that pairs cops, kids

By Tasha Tsiaperas
The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS — Dallas police officials hope 300 of its officers will act as mentors in the Bigs in Blue program, a branch of the one-on-one mentoring organization Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

The effort was announced Thursday at Dallas Police Headquarters, and the Bigs in Blue program received $550,000 in grant funds and donations from Dallas residents, including $500,000 raised at the Crystal Charity Ball. 

The mentoring organization has also partnered with law enforcement agencies in Chicago, Houston, Austin, Los Angeles and New York City through the Bigs in Blue program. 

The Dallas officers who choose to volunteer will each be matched with one of the 1,000 kids on the waiting list in the local chapter. The pairing could help officers better understand minority and at-risk communities, said Pam Iorio, chief executive officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. 

"We cannot live in a country where there are strained relations and tensions between police and the communities they serve," she said. 

Assistant Police Chief Paul Stokes said the program is an extension of the outreach the Dallas Police Department does with Dallas youth. The department hosts youth athletics programs and educational events that teach kids how to interact with cops. 

"This is all about one-on-one relationships ... with the most vulnerable demographic within our community," Stokes said. 

But, he said, the program will also teach the officers more about where the children come from. 

"We need to learn from them. We need to grow with them," he said. 

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