Cops' Kids – Higher education financial assistance

Scholarships for Cops’ Kids

Supporting children of law enforcement officers

If you can express in writing what it is like to grow up as a son or daughter of a law enforcement officer, you could be eligible to win a $2,000 college scholarship.

Cops’ Kids, Inc. was created with one overall purpose in mind: to lend support to the children of active-duty sworn law enforcement officers. Our primary vehicle for achieving that purpose is providing scholarships to college-bound children of police officers.

Our scholarship application requirements are very simple:

Applicants must be the son or daughter of an active-duty sworn law enforcement officer employed by one of the following Northern Alabama law enforcement agencies: Huntsville, Madison, Decatur, Triana or Athens Police Departments or the Madison or Morgan County Sheriff’s Offices.
Applicants must have been accepted by and enrolled in a community college, junior college, college or university. The applicant can be a high school graduate starting on a college career or a student already enrolled in an institution of higher learning.
Applicants must submit a written essay (maximum 2,000 words) that expresses that applicant’s experience growing up as a child of a law enforcement officer.

That’s it. The scholarship is not based on grade point averages, social activities, finances or letters of recommendation. Basically, this is a creative writing competition.

Each spring Cops’ Kids, Inc. will select what our judges believe is the best of the submitted essays and that student will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship.

(This page sets forth a summary of the requirements. Please see “Terms & Conditions” for detailed rules of the program.)

Cops’ Kids sponsors two space cadets

Future astronauts? Cops’ Kids was very happy to send Olivia McAuliffe and Brantley Cook to Space Camp in July of 2024. Olivia is the daughter of Stephen McAuliffe with the Madison City Police Department. Brantley is the son of Detective Melissa Webster who serves with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. Brantley’s team won the Commander Cup Award. Both of our Space Cadets spent a week on campus at the Space & Rocket Center here in Huntsville. During their week at the camp, they were able to participate in space simulations and role play the activities of Mission Control among other experiences.

Olivia McAuliffe

Brantley Cook and his mother Detective Melissa Webster

Our 2024 Scholarship Winner

Evan Stout, son of Madison Police Department Investigator, Lt. Jon Stout, was awarded our 2024 Cops’ Kids Scholarship. We were very honored to have the Madison City Council invite us to present the award to Evan at a regular city council meeting. Evan was the first student from a family of a Madison City Police officer to win the scholarship. He will be attending Mississippi State.

His moving essay addressed the anxiety that children of police officers must face every day. Describing one conversation he had with his Dad when he was a youngster: “I asked him why he had to scare me like this every night, why he had to put his life on the line for people he didn’t even know? . . . He said that he put his life on the line because he knew that his actions would save families like ours from experiencing the pain of losing the people we love.”

Our second group of cops’ kids attend Space Camp in Huntsville

In June of 2023 we sent our second group of cops’ kids to Space Camp at Huntsville’s Space and Rocket Center. ALLIE, ISAIAH, and GRAYSON – all children of Huntsville Police Department officers – spent five days working in simulators and solving problems in a team context. Pictured are Allie and Isaiah in their flight suits and Grayson receiving his graduation certificate. Word from Mission Control is that all three had a great experience!

Allie and Isaiah

Grayson

Our 2023 Scholarship Winner

Gage Lineberry was recognized as our 2023 Scholarship winner in a ceremony at the Huntsville Police Department headquarters. Gage is a student at Tennessee Technological University. We were pleased to have Chief Giles attend our ceremony along with Gage’s father, Steven, and other HPD officers who work with Steven. In the photo: Gage (center with certificate), Chief Giles (third from right) and Gage’s father, Steven (third from left).

Gage’s essay spoke eloquently about the pride he has for his father as a law enforcement officer. Gage wrote, “I am extremely proud of him for his selfless dedication to his community. He has taught me to put others first and to have compassion for others.” He concluded his essay with this thought: “Despite the risks, I am happy to share my father with my community.”

Our 2022 Scholarship Winner

We had the pleasure of presenting our 2022 scholarship award to Faith Clardy during her graduation ceremony at Buckhorn High School. Faith, the daughter of Huntsville Police Department Officer Lt. Tim Clardy, Jr., will be attending Calhoun Community College.

In the essay she submitted to Cops Kids she provided an interesting perspective on growing up as a child of police officer in today’s times. She wrote, “Social media and the news media do not make it easy on a police family and especially as a teenage daughter of a police officer. Several major events have taken place in our lives that have made us a stronger police family. My father is a police officer, but most importantly he is my dad.”

Our 2021 Scholarship Winner

On May 26,2021, Cops’ Kids was proud to present this year’s $2,000 scholarship to Tyler Carlisle. Tyler’s dad, Kevin Carlisle, is an investigator for the Huntsville Police Department.

Tyler submitted an insightful essay in which he said, “[My dad] wants us to know that there are people struggling in the world, and it is important for us to show them respect and kindness. Mutual respect will allow the world to have positive relationships with police officers as well as with all other groups of people.”

We were very honored this year to have HPD Chief of Police Mark McMurray join us for the award ceremony at the agency’s headquarters. Tyler will head off to Auburn University in the fall.

Our 2020 Scholarship Winner

We are proud to present our 2020 Cops’ Kids Scholarship recipient, Rebekah Payne. Rebekah’s mother, Christy Terry, is an officer with the Huntsville Police Department. Rebekah is headed to Athens State University in the fall. In her very moving essay, she said of her Mom, “I am honored to call her my mom and to follow in her footsteps and become the best version of myself.”

Cops’ Kids’ Selects Its APOLLO TEAM

In July of 2019, the U.S. Space & Rocket Center will be celebrating the three-man Apollo crew’s successful moon landing. Cops’ Kids is very pleased to be sending our own Team to Space Camp during the 50th Anniversary Week of July 14 – 19.

Our three team members (all children of active duty police officers), LEILA, JASON & MEGAN, each won a full week’s tuition after writing to us and explaining why they would be good candidates for Space Camp.

Below are photos Leila’s parents sent to us of their daughter discovering she was headed to Camp when she unwrapped her certificate on Christmas morning.

Our 2019 scholarship winner

Very proud to present our 2019 Cops’ Kids Essay Competition winner: Zerahiah Joseph, daughter of Huntsville Police Officer Michael Joseph and his wife, Wendy.

Zerahiah will receive a $2,000 college scholarship as a result of submitting a very compelling essay describing the unique issues faced by children of police officers.

We were happy to meet her and her family at the presentation ceremony on May 30, 2019, at Huntsville Police Department headquarters.

Our 2018 scholarship winner

Cops’ Kids was very proud to present our first scholarship winner, Kennedy Moore. We had a really nice ceremony at the Huntsville Police Department Headquarters. Pictured from left to right are Tom Borcher, Cops’ Kids Executive Director, Kennedy Moore and her parents and Huntsville Police Chief Mark McMurray, (May 9, 2018)

Mission

We offer support to the children of active-duty sworn law enforcement officers by providing scholarships to the officers’ college-bound sons and daughters.

Apply

Applicants may submit their essays between January 1st and March 31st. (Any essays submitted outside of these dates will not be considered.) Submissions may be made through this website.

Donate

Funds donated to Cops’ Kids provide scholarships to students in the Huntsville and surrounding communities. Read more to find out how you can contribute.