MINT HILL, NC – Mint Hill Police Department is participating in the Law Enforcement Torch Run® (LETR) for Special Olympics this year. The event is being headed up by Officer Cassie Scott. She writes “The Law Enforcement Torch Run® (LETR) for Special Olympics began in 1981 when Wichita Police Chief Richard LaMunyon saw a need to raise money and awareness for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The LETR provided an opportunity for law enforcement officers to volunteer with Special Olympics in the communities where the officers lived and worked. In North Carolina, the first Torch Run was organized in 1987 where relays would run from Raleigh and Charlotte to the site of the 1987 SONC Summer Games. 

LETR is now the largest year-round fundraising campaign and public awareness event for Special Olympics. The money raised supports local athletes who compete locally, at the state level, and nationally in Special Olympic games.  

This is the first year Mint Hill Police Department is participating in the LETR Special Olympics fundraiser. Mint Hill Police Department is hosting community fundraising events and selling Special Olympics t-shirts to raise money for this cause. As a department, the fundraising goal has been set at $7,000. Mint Hill PD’s biggest fundraising event will be the First Annual Golf Classic on September 16th, 2022, held at Olde Sycamore Golf Plantation. Mint Hill Police Department invites all local businesses to participate and sponsor this Golf Classic and join us for a day of inclusion and fun!”

Lieutenant Billy Gilman added “Officer Scott is doing a fantastic job for the Mint Hill Police Department and community, bringing awareness and supporting Special Olympics.  Over the previous years, she began bridging a partnership with CMPD campaigning for SO which in return propelled her into taking the lead for MHPD.  I hope we all can stay in tune over the next few months and highlight specific dates on which these fundraising efforts will be taking place.”