When York Regional Police Det. Const. Dovelin Hawthorne’s parents passed away two years ago, he was grieving and reflecting on how much good they did in a small community in Hanover, Jamaica.
After immigrating to Canada in 1992, every six months, Alden and Joyce Hawthorne would use whatever money they had to buy new and used items to hand out in the community.
“They did it for so many years that the youth in the community anticipated their arrival every year,” said Hawthorne. “My parents shared their time and treasures with the community until they passed away.”
In June 2020, a grieving Hawthorne decided to take a soccer ball to a park in Bolton where he lives with his family. While juggling the ball, he thought about all the generosity that he witnessed from his parents.
Hawthorne decided then that he wanted to celebrate their memory, while giving back to the community. He took a video of himself juggling the soccer ball and challenged his friends on Facebook.
It was just a small initiative in his mind to share with friends, that is until York Regional Police became aware of what Hawthorne was doing and threw their support behind it.
“It grew exponentially to the point I received 3,000 soccer items from communities in York Region and across the GTA,” Hawthorne said.
You have until November 19 to donate to #YRPCaringCleats.
— York Regional Police (@YRP) November 3, 2023
You can support youth soccer in Hanover, Jamaica by donating new or used cleats, jerseys, shorts and balls to @YRP facilities and @ChatimeCanada Bolton. pic.twitter.com/7EcNJfMLxO
The donations were sent to a boy’s home in Westmoreland, Jamaica, two schools in Hanover, and to a community church in Soufrière, St. Lucia.
Hawthorne said the unwavering support from York Regional Police is the reason this campaign has turned into what it is and he appreciates how committed the police service is to supporting humanitarian initiatives.
“I’m not the only one they support in helping communities outside of Canada, and this campaign is important to them because it’s an opportunity to exercise compassion,” he said. “They care about the well-being of the community and they’re enabling me to celebrate the memory of my parents.”
That was in 2020, now in 2023 it has led to the creation of York Regional Police’s Caring Cleats campaign that supports youth soccer in Hanover, Jamaica by donating new or used cleats, jerseys, shorts and balls.
To help support the campaign, the community is asked to drop off donations at York Regional Police facilities or at Hawthorne and his wife Allison’s Chatime franchise in Bolton.
Hawthorne points to a Maya Angelou quote as to why he’s so committed to making a positive difference through this campaign.
“It says, ‘Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.’ It started with me grieving and turned into this,” he said. “It tells me that you share what you can with the little that you have.”
Part of the campaign asks those who are donating to film themselves participating in physical activity, whether working out or doing keep-ups with a soccer ball, and put #YRPCaringCleats to help bring the community together while promoting fitness and building awareness for the initiative.
Hawthorne said that component of it is important because he wants the community to be able to own their part in the campaign and show their commitment to helping others while having a little fun.
“I’m always a big supportor of mental and physical health,” he said. “I always say, fit body, fit mind. Physical activity got me through those difficult days of grieving.”
Hawthorne said the most keep-ups he has done is 80, but during the initiative two years ago, many participants surpassed that number. He added one person did about 200.
“The Newmarket Soccer Club did a lot more than I did,” he said. “They’re much smoother than me.”
As an immigrant, Hawthorne said that he received a lot of support from the community in Canada and that’s continued with York Regional Police. He says it’s good to remember where you came from because growing up in Jamaica he didn’t have soccer cleats.
“I was playing soccer barefoot,” he said. “Now that I have been given so much, it makes sense to me to give back to communities.”
The York Regional Police Caring Cleats campaign is running until Nov. 19.
