BARBERTON — Police departments all over the country have taken on the lip sync challenge, including departments in Northeast Ohio. The latest video to surface online comes from the Barberton Police Department where they have turned the challenge into an opportunity to make a difference in the community.
The Barberton Police Department is just the latest team to accept the challenge, uploading their lip sync performance of “We are the World” to Facebook on Thursday. The video has since been viewed more than 23,000 times.
The video ends with text that points to a donation site to raise money to build a community center on the city’s south side. The center’s goal is to help at-risk youth and their families through mentoring, free access to computers and tutoring.
“It’s great,” said Barberton Police Chief Vince Morber. “That’s what we’re all about. To protect, serve and respect and to take care of the people of Barberton however we can.”
The department wanted to join in the lip sync challenge, but also wanted to create a positive change in the community by helping to raise funds for the Mother A.M. Smith Community Center.
"The mission of the Mother A.M. Smith Community Center is to meet the needs of the community by providing guidance and activities to assist our at-risk youth population and their families. The Smith Community Center is located exclusively on the South side of Barberton where the majority of the low to moderate income families live, but we are here to assist everyone in the community, the city and abroad that may need assistance."
More than $1,000 has been raised on the crowdfunding site, CrowdRise.com.