Kennewick residents doing good for their community could find themselves with an extra $100 to spend.
The Kennewick Police Foundation and HAPO Credit Union officially launched a "Positive Policing Program" on Monday.
The pilot program puts preloaded VISA gift cards into police officers' hands to distribute to upstanding residents found doing positive deeds.
"It brings to light the good stuff going on — 'neighbors helping neighbors' kind of thing," said Jim Zimmerman, vice president of the Kennewick Police Foundation, a nonprofit organization independent of the city.
Police Chief Chris Guerrero said the program will allow patrol officers to seek out community good, empower residents to help their neighbors and build more community.
He said the new program aligns with the police department's mission to provide "professional police services with integrity, courage and commitment."
"In our profession, oftentimes, we are seeing a lot of negative things happen," Guerrero said. "So, going out there and doing that, it's just not looking for people doing things wrong all the time, sometimes it's wanting to catch people doing things right. And that's really what the core of this program is about."
Cards are already being handed out to residents, Guerrero said.
One example was recently highlighted on the department's Facebook page. Two men received cards for helping a woman change a flat tire one morning near the corner of Deschutes Avenue and Crosswind Boulevard.
"The two citizens who helped the driver had been working at a nearby construction site and immediately went to help the stranded driver. The two also stated they only hoped that someone would help their wives if they were ever in a similar situation," the July 30 post read.
Another person also was recognized for helping someone with a medical condition, Guerrero said.
Stephanie Waechter, a community support specialist with HAPO, said they hope to inspire more positive interactions and foster a sense of unity and safety. This program is modeled off a previous campaign that gifted cards to random citizens.
"It was just a really cool thing to be able to make someone's day through an act of kindness. So, we're really excited," she said.
The city cannot lead the effort, however, because Washington state laws and rules prevent city governments from giving away public money.
To distribute a VISA card, police officers must fill out a form that includes the information of who is receiving the money and why they are receiving the card. Guerrero said HAPO and the foundation will have oversight of the cards.
The program will begin with 20 $100 gift cards, and will possibly be extended after that depending on engagement and what people are being recognized for, Guerrero said.
"I would hope there's no end in sight," he said. " Kennewick has great members, great citizens, great people out there really doing things for each other. That's what builds a strong community and that's exactly what our folks are looking for."
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