Susan Barr
Kern Valley Sun

Ask people in law enforcement what they enjoy most about their work and you’ll probably get a wide variety of responses. More than likely though, you won’t hear about how they look forward to giving up spare time every week to work with a bunch of energetic elementary and middle school kids. But that’s exactly what Deputy Sheriff Joseph Garcia would say. Garcia assumed the position of Director of the Sheriff’s Activities League in February of this year. For Garcia, this volunteer activity adds hours to an already packed schedule, but he’s happy to take it on. This "special" assignment is performed collaterally, in addition to performing his normal functions as a Deputy Sheriff.

He meets regularly with the 22 hand-selected kids, ranging in age from 8 to 18, who make up the Kern Valley Chapter of SAL. Most of the youngsters have come in contact with the Deputy Sheriff during his two years as School Resource Officer with the Kernville Union School District. Garcia splits his days between the various elementary and middle school campuses and meets with his SAL youngsters each Tuesday evening. He plans a variety of activities for his young charges, such as hiking, fishing, and Friday dinner and movie nights. Of all of them, he enjoys the spirited games of dodge ball the most. He views the games as much more than just a good way for the kids to have fun and burn off energy. He sees it as an opportunity to teach them valuable lessons about discipline, respect, friendship and even life itself. Participants are expected to act in a respectful manner at all times; to each other, to parent volunteers and to Garcia himself. His most often used “trick” to get kids back in line is to have them drop to the ground and do a set of push-ups.

Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe Garcia stands in front of his patrol cruiser outside the Kern Valley Sheriff Substation.

Garcia believes that holding the youngsters accountable for their behavior, be it during a friendly game or on a field trip to an assisted living center for seniors, is crucial to the program’s success. He believes that teaching them to have respect for themselves and as well as others, can greatly impact the direction that these young lives will take. This sentiment is echoed by Kern County Sheriff, Donny Youngblood. He believes that the SAL program is vital to the future of the children who take part in it, and especially those that are in remote areas like the Kern River Valley. According to Youngblood, the youngsters find a positive role model in the Deputy Sheriff Program Director and know that he cares about their future. Even more importantly he said “They will learn that their behavior has consequences, both positive and negative. They will learn that their future is in their hands and that the barriers preventing success are placed there by them, therefore they can be removed by them.”

The local valley SAL program couldn’t operate without a plethora of dedicated volunteers. Fortunately for Garcia, he has many. Parents of the children are thrilled to have their sons and daughters involved in the program and are happy to help out by transporting kids to events and chaperoning them on field trips. Garcia also utilizes volunteers from the local Citizens Service Unit to help with the transportation needs such a program entails.

The SAL program has four chapters throughout Kern County; Kern River Valley, Wasco, East Bakersfield and Lamont. While the other larger chapters have obtained corporate sponsors over the years, the fledgling valley chapter, which operates on a very limited budget, is hoping to interest sponsors from the community. Garcia is currently working on a major fundraising event that will be held later in the year.

The Kern County Sheriff's Activities League is a non-profit group that was formed to offer activities for the youth of Kern County. SAL is a private organization, and is not funded by the County of Kern. If you would like to find out more about the program, you can contact Deputy Sheriff Garcia at the Kern Valley Substation (760) 549-2100.