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Why do departments wear Awareness badges?
Discover the impact of awareness badges in public safety, fostering unity, boosting morale, and enhancing community relations for a cause.
Awareness badges are unique to public safety. No other organization, company, or product can bring awareness to a cause with a badge. Your badge is the most symbolic part of your uniform and using your unique platform to bring awareness to a cause is a powerful message of support and philanthropy. Whether the cause is cancer, autism, or domestic violence, awareness badges show togetherness within your department and community in support of a cause.
The decision to wear an awareness badge starts with you and your department identifying a cause. We will explore some of those positive effects when you engage in a cause campaign. It is important to understand the benefits of rallying together for a cause and why your police department would choose to start a program.
Connect with your Department - In This Together
You deal with many challenging and stressful things at work, and rallying together for a cause is an opportunity to focus on something positive within your department and your community. At the department level, that sense of purpose grows as more officers participate. The excitement of achieving a fundraising target or engaging in a community outreach effort can bring everyone together with a unified sense of purpose. Focusing on the greater good and engaging with the community with positive programs is very gratifying. All of this makes for a positive work environment which can boost morale in your department.
Connect with Your Community during an Awareness Campaign
Awareness campaigns communicate a positive public image of your department. Your commitment to a cause can enhance the perception of law enforcement. Think about the relief a parent of a child on the autism spectrum would feel if they saw your blue badge! It says that you understand that a person on the autism spectrum might have different developmental and chronological ages. The badge shows a real consciousness of issues and that positive feedback from the community can be a pretty powerful morale boost.
Plus, your badge looks a little different than normal. The noticeable blue or pink color shows approachability. Kids and young people aren’t shy about asking questions about a colorful badge. Let your awareness badge be a conversation starter. That messaging of a shared bond is a way of noting that while your job sometimes places you in the middle of disruption within your community, you actually have so much in common with your community.
When your officers feel supported by their community, that camaraderie also creates a positive work environment. For example, the message a pink badge sends is that you get it, you know someone who has experienced breast cancer too. Your awareness campaign is an opportunity to relate to your community in a way that says you all care about the same issues.
A Cause is Personal
When your department decides on a cause and your Department Chief has “authorized the wear”, you have a personal decision to make. Since these badges are typically personally funded, you show your support for a cause by purchasing an awareness badge. By choosing to participate, you are working with your fellow officers on a shared goal outside of your regular duties. The teamwork will hopefully build some togetherness within the department, which is always great for morale. Participating in charitable fundraising or donating to a charity is your individual decision, but know that if you purchase your awareness badge at Smith & Warren, we donate a percentage of the proceeds of all pink and blue awareness badge purchases to organizations aligned with a cause.
Smith & Warren’s Cause Support
At Smith & Warren, we donate 10% of Awareness Badge proceeds to causes. These are causes that affect our team members too, so it is meaningful and important to us to also support charitable organizations. Our pink badge breast cancer donations go to National Breast Cancer Foundation and our blue badge donations go to ASGO Autism Awareness First Responder Training Program.
We have many options available to customize and design in both pink and blue finishes. The ordering process is quick and easy and we have more information about ordering awareness badges in this article. Our sales team can answer any of your getting started questions.
Adopting awareness badge programs in your department offers significant internal benefits. These initiatives foster a sense of unity and shared mission among your officers, enhancing overall department morale. By engaging in causes close to your hearts, officers experience a heightened sense of community and purpose within their ranks. This involvement not only supports valuable social causes but also reinforces a positive and cohesive department culture, leading to a more supportive and collaborative work environment.
Recommended Topics in our Learning Center
How do I start an Awareness Badge and cause program?
Why wear blue badges for autism awareness?