The American Legion Department of Maryland presented $1,500 to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) in March at the American Legion Post 82 in La Plata as part of the organization’s annual support of the CCSO’s D.A.R.E. program.
Mr. Robert M. Johnson of the Department of Maryland Children and Youth Commission presented a check to Sgt. Carl Rye, a supervisor in the CCSO School Resource Unit, which administers the D.A.R.E. program. Sheriff Rex Coffey, American Legion members Buddy Hindle, John Countryman, Doug Clark, Sherri Cannon and Mike Cannon and Sgt. Mike Vaughn, the second supervisor in the School Resource Unit, attended the presentation ceremony.
“This donation gives life to the D.A.R.E. program,” said Sgt. Rye, who earned a lifetime achievement award from the D.A.R.E program last year. “Every year it funds the training that is necessary to keep our school resource officers certified as D.A.R.E. instructors. The American Legion has a significant impact on our community by offering us this donation every year.”
“As someone who has taken part in the fight against drugs as a patrol officer, a narcotics detective and now as Sheriff, I can’t emphasize enough how strongly I support the D.A.R.E. program or how much I appreciate the American Legion’s support of it,” said Sheriff Coffey. “The D.A.R.E. message reaches a lot of young people and motivates them to make good choices and the American Legion is a driving force behind the program’s success here in Charles County.”
For more information about the School Resource Unit or the CCSO’s other youth outreach initiatives, visit www.ccso.us.
