Playing musical chairs with Mammoth Police and other first responders. Photo by Nathaniel Lopez
On Friday, Aug.15, the Copper Corridor Coalition and Arizona Youth Partnership hosted National Night Out in Mammoth at the Community Center.
In attendance were also some members of the Arizona Rangers, Mammoth Police Department, Pinal County Sheriff, Arizona Department of Liquor Prevention Unit, Mammoth Fire Department, Dudleyville Fire Department, Redhawk Exploration, Dirty Sno, and SaddleBrooke Rotary.
Free food, drinks, and desserts were given out, among other prizes for the kids. Games were played, and even the adults got in on the games, playing musical chairs with the kids. Towards the end of the evening the kids were able to go take tours of the vehicles that were present.
“National night out is really a time when community and first responders can come together and build stronger friendships and partnerships, and so we host this every year to be able to help them to reduce crime. It helps reduce substance use, and increasing family bonding,” said Darrien Matthews, Program Manager of Arizona Youth Partnership. “So what we do is we bring first responders in, not just locally, but from the county that serve Mammoth as well as the surrounding communities. We give prizes away to families, for family bonding, we provide food to the community too. We’ve seen more connections, increased and deeper connections and their relationships between community and first responders. So they’ve been more willing to reach out to their first responders when they need help. So that’s helped to reduce crime or prevent it from even happening.”