Police Athletic League Receives $25,000 Grant

On Thursday at Newtown Estates Park, Eliza Culverhouse presented Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight with a $25,000 check for the Police Athletic League.

The money was raised from Sarasota Springfest, a 5K and 12K race in March. “These type of collaborations are huge,” said deputy and PAL director John Cox. “The biggest thing is the relationship that’s being built for years to come.”

It was just a few years ago when budget cuts halted three PAL afterschool programs, but Cox said these new type of relationships will help bring them back. On Thursday Knight and Cox announced the revival of the Circus Arts program as children trained in the gym.

Circus Arts offers children ages 7-14 the opportunity to learn about the circus arts, including gymnastics, unicycling, juggling and other confidence building activities.

Pointing back toward the children practicing, Cox said “It’s one kid at a time. A month ago these kids didn’t have this,” he said. “You look today and there are 25 here. We are hoping to grow it.”

Growing afterschool programs, like Circuit Arts, is key for communities in today’s economy, Cox said.

“It’s paramount to have a place where kids can go and be safe,” Cox said. "Everybody is working two jobs, so to have a place for kids to go after school for a couple hours to have fun, feel safe and to learn is huge." 

He added that its other mission is to build the relationship between law enforcement and children.

Too often, he said, children only see officers in uniform and when something is going wrong.

“When they come to PAL, [however], they’ll see us in shorts and T-shirts,” Cox said. “It’s the positive things we want to build.”