RACINE, Wis. — A Racine legend known for her dedication to getting kids excited about reading was honored Friday for her 25 years of community service, by the group that helped her get started.
Members of the Racine Men’s Church Club gathered Friday afternoon to recognize Julia Witherspoon, the founder of the Cops ‘n Kids Reading Center, as she steps into retirement.
“I never expected a plaque. I never expected any of this,” Witherspoon said of the fanfare.
Yet if you were to look at the 74-year-old’s long list of accolades and accomplishments — things like being an Olympic torchbearer or being recognized by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Leroy Butler — you’d think she’d be used to it by now.
But for Witherspoon’s the club’s steadfast support over the year stands out. The 74-year-old moved to tears at their congratulations.
“To be here with them at the end of my career with Cops ‘n Kids, meant a great deal,” she said. “They’ve been with me since, day one, they’ve supported me they believed in me.”
The retired police officer founded Cops ‘n Kids in 1997 after responding to a call and noticing that the books in the home were out of the reach of the children.
The moment reminded her of her own childhood.
WATCH: Racine Cops ‘n Kids founder retires after 25 years of service
“It wasn’t that they didn’t want us to read,” Witherspoon said. “They didn’t want us to damage the books — tear the pages, write in them — because they couldn’t afford to replace them.”
Determined to make a difference, Witherspoon prayed for guidance.
“I went home, and I cried,” she shared. “I really cried because I knew that’s why kids were dropping out of school, that’s why they were getting in trouble because they didn’t understand the work.”
Less than a week later, she found herself at a warehouse responding to a burglary call. Inside were 10,000 slightly damaged children’s books set to be shredded.
She asked the warehouse’s owner to donate a few, with plans to give them away to kids in her community.
That owner donated all 10,000.
“Woah! Wait, what?” Witherspoon thought at the time. “First of all, where am I going to put 10,000 books? How am I going to move them?”
Still, she didn’t let those obstacles stop her, with the help of community partners she found a truck and then a storefront.
“In one day — one four-hour segment — those books were gone. All 10,000 of them,” she said.
From that moment Cops ‘n Kids took off, handing out books from squad cars, on police calls, at community events, and running after-school reading programs.
The initiative also grew well beyond Racine, gaining support from police departments and city leaders nationwide.
As she looks toward retirement, Witherspoon said she is grateful to have served her city and hopes the children she helped will pass on their love of reading.
“I wish I could do it forever and ever,” she said. “But of course, I can’t.”
Over the years, Witherspoon has been the subject of numerous features, television appearances, and dozens of awards.
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