What happens when the Bethlehem Police Department, Connell Funeral Home and the Bethlehem Dairy Store form a partnership? You get a new initiative called “Caught Doing Good” whereby Bethlehem police officers on patrol throughout the city will ‘cite’ kids that they observe “demonstrating kindness, respect, responsibility and other acts of good character” by presenting them with a voucher for free ice cream.

The vouchers can then be redeemed at either Bethlehem Dairy Store location, at the Northside Linden Street store or the Southside Farrington Square store.

The initiative kicked off July 8 in Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott’s office at city hall.

“We believe it’s important to recognize and celebrate the good happening in our community every day,” said John Connell. “By partnering with the Bethlehem Police Department and Bethlehem Dairy Store we hope to create positive interactions and lasting impressions for our youth,” he added.

Kott said, “We are so stoked to participate and it’s an excellent opportunity to build partnerships with the kids in our community. We were on board from the get-go.”

Bill Burkhardt, co-owner of the Bethlehem Dairy Store, said, “We always enjoy doing community things, so we’re looking forward to this.”

Connell says that Connell Funeral Home co-president Jaime Connell got the idea when he came across a similar program running elsewhere, so they approached their partners at the police department and dairy store to do it locally. “Caught Doing Good” reflects Connell Funeral Home’s ongoing mission to make a meaningful difference according to their press release.