Lower Windsor Township Police Department has a mission to keep the community safe, and thanks to a local organization, that mission just became a little easier. River's Edge Community Services (RECS) raised money to donate a police shield to the station. Members of the group presented a check to Police Chief Jim Thomas in February.

"This will make a big difference for us," Thomas said, noting that the station currently has only one police shield, which has been used in the field. "We need something like this to keep our officers safe and to help protect our community."

RECS members decided to raise funds for the shield after now-retired Police Chief David Arnold came to a RECS meeting in March of 2022. He talked about the station's needs, and he mentioned that the police were looking to buy another riot shield. After the meeting, Terry Robinson, pastor at Water's Edge United Methodist Church in Wrightsville, asked the group, "What do you think about raising money for that second shield?" Robinson noted that he felt the project sounded like a good fit for RECS, an organization of about 14 area churches. "I thought it was important to the community and a way we could show our support to the police, because they support us so much by protecting and serving this community," he said.

Jim Lewis, pastor of Zion United Methodist Church in East Prospect, said all of the United Methodist churches in the area were asked to donate, and donations also came from the East Prospect Lions Club. Individual members of RECS also asked their specific churches for donations. In total, six churches and individuals donated $1,716, enough to purchase the shield.

RECS began about 10 years ago, when Carolyn Livingston got the idea to bring the churches together. "Our founder said it best when she said, 'We can do more together than we can apart,'" recalled RECS secretary Brenda Holcomb. At first, three or four churches came together with a focus on helping students in the Eastern York School District. They collected clothes to be kept in the nurse's office for students in need.

Since then, not only has RECS grown in members, but it has also expanded its reach to additional service projects. Each July, the group collects school supplies and fills backpacks to deliver among the five schools in the district at the start of the school year. They support Project Toybox, a toy collection and distribution initiative of the Christ United Methodist Church in Yorkana. The group has been involved with the Wrightsville Group Workcamp since 2017, supplying snacks and drinks to the student participants, and RECS is currently holding a book drive for children in the district. "We have collected 1,100 books," Holcomb said, adding that the Lions Club helped with that collection as well.

RECS currently meets on the last Monday of the month at various locations in the region. Speakers often come to meetings and talk about their organizations, and state Rep. Joe D'Orsie's office has expressed interest in partnering with them, Holcomb stated. She also noted that the group welcomes new members.

For more information on RECS, call Holcomb at 717-252-6092.