LENS Endowment logo - LENS cover image for LDP
When the Isle of Palms Law Enforcement Neighborhood Support program was launched at the beginning of 2022, the volunteer organization set its sights on raising funds help law enforcement families in need, boost morale and enhance the relationship between the IOP Police Department and the community.
In its first two years, LENS has reached well beyond those goals, establishing programs and sponsoring events that strengthen the connection between law enforcement and the people they protect.
There’s more to come in 2024, according to “LENS Whisperer” Ted Kinghorn.
“We have exceeded all expectations – ours and the Police Department’s,” said Kinghorn, who added that in its first two years of existence, LENS has served 100 public safety families and 800 community members and spent more than $120,000 on various projects.
The LENS program has supported the IOP Police Department by sponsoring the Department’s annual awards banquet, National Night Out and a public safety open house. Other morale-boosting initiatives have included the annual LENS banquet, back to school supply gift cards, passes to the Carolina Coastal Fair for officers and their family members, special appreciation dinners and educational scholarships.
LENS has served the IOP and Sullivan’s Island communities as well with a bike rodeo safety program; back to school night at Sullivan’s Island Elementary School; courses on water safety for kids and on boat certification; a crabbing event; a community wine tasting; an environment and conservation expo; and a scholarship for a medical student.
Not content to rest on their laurels, the LENS volunteers have come up with several new programs for 2024. For example, the Wild Child Triathlon is planned for Feb. 25 in Wild Dunes for athletes ages 6 through 12. The age-appropriate competition, limited to 100 participants, will include biking, running and swimming.
Another new addition to the LENS roster of activities, scheduled for April, is a boating safety program called “Suddenly in Command.”
“Let’s say a couple is out boating with their grandchildren and the grandpa has a stroke or something like that,” Kinghorn explained. “How does ‘the non-boating spouse’ get the boat safely back to shore?”
The program is offered by the U.S. Coast Guard, one of several professional organizations LENS partners with to attain its goals. Another one of LENS’ strategic partners is the Medical University of South Carolina Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, which will be participating in a golf cart safety program in March.
“We don’t profess to be experts. LENS provides the marketing, the resources and the venue and handles the registration. We set the table and the partner is the implementer,” Kinghorn said. “We try to get the experts involved.”
He pointed out that the LENS community-oriented programs are open to those who live on and off the Isle of Palms. In fact, two bike rodeos are planned for 2024, both of them at Sunrise Church on Sullivan’s Island, and those who live in Mount Pleasant are welcome to participate as well.
Kinghorn pointed out that LENS is able to attain its goals through the generosity of the community. Its funds come from private donors, sponsorships, events such as the annual LENS banquet, endowments and a local philanthropist who has pledged $15,000 a year for five years, which will be matched by LENS and used for scholarships.
“The community is embracing us with financial support. People have put their money where their mouth is,” Kinghorn concluded.
