SOUTHERN Interior RCMP are warning the public of telephone solicitations in the name of Cops for Kids that could be circulating throughout the Southeast District and other parts of the province.
The RCMP report that separate calls are being received of suspicious phone soliciting in addition to aggressive and high pressure type phone soliciting. “In most cases, callers on the phone are seeking donations via credit card for the Cops for Kids charity,” says Cpl. Dan Moskaluk, Media Relations Officer for the RCMP Southeast District.
Most communities in the Southeast District are familiar with the Cops For Kids Charitable Foundation and the RCMP’s affiliation to it. As their signature Cops for Kids Ride is coming up in September, the RCMP would like to remind the public that they and the Cops for Kids Charitable Foundation does not participate in any type of fundraising through cold phone calls at any time. Ride team members on the Cops for Kids Ride are all responsible for raising a minimum of $2,000 in order to participate, which they’ve all done through their own fundraising events and personal contacts.
Cops for Kids Charitable Foundation raise funds throughout the year to support ongoing requests from families in medical, physical or traumatic crisis within Southeastern BC. Information on how to donate to Cops for Kids Charitable Foundation can be reviewed online at anytime throughout the year by visiting www.copsforkids.org.
The public are being advised that the RCMP does not engage in telephone solicitations of any kind to raise funds.
Moskaluk says the public should be vigilant and question those collecting funds for any cause.
There are resources including the Better Business Bureau and the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) that the public can utilize to verify the legitimacy of any fundraising initiatives.