The Columbus Division of Police and The Starfish Assignment celebrated two important milestones in their ongoing partnership of community service with the donation of the 50,000th book to children and the launch of “Books & Badges” en español.

Since 2019, Starfish has been partnering with CPD and other law enforcement agencies for “Books & Badges,” which connects law enforcement officers with elementary school students to encourage.

The launch of “Books & Badges” en español on Monday, saw four Columbus police officers read books in Spanish to 170 children at St. Mary Magdalene School in the Hilltop. Many of the students at the school speak English as a second language, so to hear a Columbus police officer reading to them in their native tongue was especially meaningful and exciting.

“I grew up in the Bronx,” said Officer Sam James.

“I came here when I was 11 years old. I did not speak English when I got here. So, the ability to- every time I ran into someone that spoke Spanish, it was like, ‘Thank you.’ It was like, you know, the language in common turns that person from a stranger to someone I can actually go to. And it’s like suddenly you’re not just one more person in the crowd. You’re someone that I know I can point out, like if I need help, I can talk to you.”

Also, this week marked another milestone as Starfish donated its 50,000th book. Since December of 2019, officers in six states have read to tens of thousands of children through “Books & Badges.”

During each event, an officer reads a book to the students, and Starfish Assignment provides every child with a copy of the book as a gift from their law enforcement friends.

“This program started on December 19, 2019,” said Starfish founder and President Nicole Banks.

“That was right before the pandemic. We didn’t know how that was going to go, but officers wanted to connect with the children, so they kept it going all through the school closures and everything. They were still reading to kids. They went into the community centers to read, which were open a lot of the time. They love this program and they wanted to connect with children. All through that pandemic, when the schools were closed, they were still reading. It was a beautiful experience. We’ve grown all through that. It’s wonderful.”

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