The Ridgefield Raptors honored local first responders while raising money for a community nonprofit during a 14-6 win over the Marion Berries of the West Coast League Thursday, July 23.
The Raptors’ annual First Responder Night featured a specialty jersey auction and raffle benefiting Kindness 911, an organization that recognizes acts of kindness through local first responders and donates proceeds to charities selected by participating agencies.
Fans also had the opportunity to meet first responders during the big win, which kept the Raptors near the top of the overall standings after earning the South Division’s first half title earlier in the season.
The special jerseys included a patch of a Clark County police or fire agency, with different designs every season; countless fans were sporting first responder-themed Raptor jerseys from past years. The auction and a raffle during the game helps Kindness 911 continue supporting charities selected by the area first responder agencies.
“I honestly don’t know of any other times when this many law enforcement, firefighters, dispatchers, corrections, EMTs can all come together,” Kindness 911 founder Jason Hattrick said. “We have on-shift people. We have off-shift people (here). We can come together and actually just be people with each other, and I think that’s really good for the heart.”
Kindness 911 works with first responders to recognize everyday acts of kindness in the community through “kindness citations” before donating to charitable organizations in participating communities.
The nonprofit privately raises the money it distributes every year. Hattrick said Ridgefield police have traditionally selected the Pink Lemonade Project as the recipient of Kindness 911’s annual donation.
“Every year, we donate $500 to a charity within all of our agency’s communities that they get to choose,” Hattrick said. “The proceeds from our jersey auction and the raffle tonight go directly to do those donations because we have to privately fundraise that. And so people’s generosity today literally comes to us, so we can give it right back out to the community.”
To learn more about Kindness 911, visit kindness911.org.
The evening also gave community members the opportunity to meet and learn more about the volunteer wing of the Ridgefield police force as volunteers staffed informational booths and were a presence around the ballpark.
Ridgefield Police Department volunteer Elliot Ross said events like First Responder Night help bridge the gap between public safety agencies and the community.
“Highlighting first responders, you know, it’s great. It’s needed so families can see that,” Ross said.
Ross, who previously volunteered with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department before moving to Ridgefield in 2019, said volunteering has allowed him to build relationships with local officers while helping to educate residents about public safety.
“We don’t have a patrol car. We walk the neighborhoods and we help at events like this to help with crowd control and getting information out like our booth we're sitting at today,” Ross said.
He encouraged others to find ways to serve their communities, regardless of the time commitment.
“Just volunteer,” Ross said, adding that no one has to do many hours. “It could be a volunteer patrol. It could be a lot of social events that go on. It’s good to volunteer. It feels good and you help the community.”
To learn more about volunteering with the Ridgefield Police Department, visit ridgefieldwa.us/277/Neighbors-on-Watch-NOW.
