Mahwah's Youth Leadership, Junior Police Academies Return This Summer

Mahwah’s Junior Police and Youth Leadership Academies will be back this year, and online registration for the popular summer programs will begin next Monday at 12 noon, the Mahwah Municipal Alliance announced Thursday.

According to a release from MMA members Mayor Bill Laforet, Police Chief Jim Batelli, and President Carolyn Blake, the JPA will be held this year from July 8 – 19, and the YLA from July 29 – August 2.

The two academies will be offered for the same prices they were last year, $225 for the JPA - a day camp for students entering 6th grade next September - and $275 for the YLA - a 5-day sleep away leadership camp for students entering the 8th through 12th grades.

In the release, Laforet said the programs are “unlike any offered by other jurisdictions,” and said both the programs and their price points are made possible by corporate donations and “dedicated officers.”

The MMA, a volunteer organization made up of township police officers, residents, and local business owners, puts on the two summer programs every year. The JPA is now in its 12th year, and the YLA in its 7th, the release said.

The MMA will also be adding a third summer offering to its roster this year, a boys basketball clinic and summer basketball league. Though exact details on the program have not yet been announced, MMA members say it will be open to Mahwah boys from 3rd through 8th grade, and will be free of charge.

Residents can also expect the return of the Alliance’s annual car raffle, which helps fund the summer programming. Tickets are not yet on sale, but this year the MMA will be raffling off a 2013 Q5 Quattro Audi from Jack Daniels Audi worth $41,450.

Blake said in the release that all of the summer programming offered by the group is part of its “[commitment] to help our youth make good decisions and become good leaders.”

Additional details are available on the MMA website.

Submit your questions or news tips to jessica.mazzola@patch.com. And, remember to sign up for Patch's daily newsletter, and get updates on Facebook and Twitter.