Lexington Police Department Foundation

As the Town of Lexington continues to expand and grow, along with the demand for services steadily increasing, the leadership of the Lexington Police Department recognized the need to develop more effective public and private partnerships and alternative funding streams. This is especially true in the light of budget deficits at the Federal and State levels that effectively reduce the amount of grant and other flow-through resources previously available through these entities. The Lexington Police Department and members of Town Council also recognized that there was a need to strengthen the relationship between the Police Department and business and civic communities. The result of these efforts was the creation of the "Adopt-A-Cop" program in the early 2000's.

In mid-2019, the Lexington Police Foundation became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a foundation board, which includes members of the community, along with a executive committee, which includes officers and staff of the Lexington Police Department, was formed.

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Chief Terrence Green with Lexington Police Department Foundation Board Members (L to R) Otis Rawl, Lori Moroz, Chris Seeby and Stan Sharpe.

Program Benefits

The Lexington Police Department Foundation is an innovative approach to community resource development because it is targeted at specific needs identified by personnel at all levels of the Lexington Police Department. It can provide funding to pilot new programs and assess their effectiveness prior to integration into long-term budgets. The program also gives contributors the opportunity to provide tax deductible individualized support of their local police department, selecting specific programs or materials to support in accordance with an individual's or corporate giving philosophy.

At the same time, individuals and community groups have the opportunity to build a relationship with the person behind the badge by working directly with the individual officer or officers who will benefit from a contribution and see how a contribution really works within the community. Contributions to the Lexington Police Department Foundation are meant to supplement, not replace tax dollars in promoting quality criminal justice programming in the Town of Lexington. This support can stretch tax dollars further by providing an alternative source of local match funding often required for receipt of governmental and foundation grant dollars, thus reducing the burden on taxpayers.

Some examples of these partnerships include donations of stuffed animals to provide to children who have been victims of crime, sponsoring an event such as a child safety seat check or other community event, donation of box fans to be given away to those in need, or to initiate new outreach programs such as Kona Ice and Cops which was started in the summer of 2016 from several generous donations.

2004 Program of the Year

In 2004 the "Adopt-a-Cop" program was selected by the South Carolina Municipal Association as its South Carolina Public Safety Program of the Year. In the same year, the Lexington Police Department's "Adopt-a-Cop" program was also recognized by the SC Community Development Association with an Award of Excellence.

We need your help to continue this program. You can contribute by providing a tax deductable donations to the Lexington Police Department.

For more information, please contact Chief Terrence Green at 803-359-6260.