Many of you already know about or donate to our charity, the Law Enforcement Assistance Fund (LEAF), but some people aren’t familiar with the charity, what its purpose is and what benefits you get for donating to the fund. 

Let’s start with the most important aspect of this fund, which is to financially support the children of fallen officers by paying for their college expenses. With your donations, we can be there for our fallen officers’ minor children throughout their lives. We are there with a check for their birthdays, Christmas and when they graduate from high school. We also cover 100% of their college tuition, books, food and housing based on in-state tuition rates. We will also reimburse their out-of-state college tuition costs, including books, food and housing, based on Nevada in-state tuition rates. We would not be able to do any of this without your generous donations.

Last year, we expanded our fundraising efforts for LEAF, so we are able to continue our mission and hopefully expand upon our benefits to the families of our fallen. We held our first major fundraising event for LEAF in 2022, the Police vs. Fire football game, which was a major success that we hope to carry on for many years to come. Also, through our outreach, we had several generous local businesses make donations to the fund. Last but not least, LEAF sent out its first mailer to the public last year to expand upon our supporters.  

In 2022, LEAF was generously donated season tickets to the Vegas Golden Knights and the UNLV football team. As a benefit of being a donor, all of these tickets go directly to people who donate to the fund using a raffle program. We also raffle off a trip to Washington, D.C., every year for police week to one lucky LEAF donor. To be eligible for these benefits, you must donate recurring through payroll deductions.  

This year, LEAF will be giving out six $5,000 scholarships, which will be awarded at the Police vs. Fire charity football game. To be eligible for these scholarships, the recipient must be a current high school senior planning on starting college in the fall of 2023 and be a child or sibling of a LEAF donor. The donor must be donating to LEAF through payroll deductions at the time of application and in the prior year.

If you are interested in donating to LEAF, you can do so by filling out a payroll deduction sheet and sending it to payroll. 

If you have any questions on how to donate or about LEAF, please reach out to me.