New London Police Explorers work in Iola

By Staff Sgt. Josh Wilson

From left, Sadie Thebo, Kyla Werner, and Keegan Krause volunteered all three days at the Iola Car Show and between the three of them, accounted for 108 community service hours for the New London Police Explorers.

The 2016 Iola Car Show, July 7-9, was the biggest fundraiser for the New London Police Explorers.

The Explorers use the experience they have in directing traffic, parking cars and assisting with crowd direction.

The Explorers have helped with the Car Show for over 10 years, and over the 10 years they have received about $15,000 for their efforts. The Iola Car Show donates to the Explorers based on the number of community service hours they work. The New London Police Explorers have benefited tremendously from the partnership with the Iola Car Show.

The money the Explorers receive is spent directly on the youth participants.

The Explorer program provides the uniform shirts, registration, equipment, meals, even scholarships. The Police Explorers have given every high school senior a scholarship if they continue onto college, even if they choose not to continue in the career of law enforcement. In the last three years alone, the Explorers have awarded $2,500 in scholarships to their members.

This year the Explorers showed up in force volunteering Thursday through Saturday, donating their time for the Explorers. As a whole, the Explorers provided over 300 hours of community service towards the Iola Car Show in three days.