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Photo courtesy of David Bannister
Hoover-based NASRO launches national partnership to connect school resource officers with community help. Photo courtesy of David Bannister.
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Photo courtesy of David Bannister
Hoover-based NASRO launches national partnership to connect school resource officers with community help. Photo courtesy of David Bannister.
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Photo courtesy of David Bannister
Hoover-based NASRO launches national partnership to connect school resource officers with community help. Photo courtesy of David Bannister.
A Hoover organization that trains school resource officers across the country is leading a new national effort aimed at getting help to students and families who need it.
The National Association of School Resource Officers, headquartered on Valleydale Road in Hoover, announced Tuesday a three-year partnership with the Sandlin Foundation for Kids & Kindness and Neighborhood Bridges. The program is built to give SROs and school administrators a way to flag unmet needs, from shoes and groceries to winter coats, school supplies and transportation, and post them on an online platform where local residents, businesses and organizations can respond.
NASRO, founded in 1991, provides training and best-practice guidance for school-based law enforcement officers, school administrators and school safety professionals. Its model casts the SRO in three roles: law enforcement officer, public safety educator and informal counselor and mentor.
"School Resource Officers build relationships every day with students, educators and families," said Mo Canady, executive director of NASRO. "This partnership creates another avenue for communities to support their students while strengthening the relationships that make our schools and communities stronger."
The initiative begins with a 90-day pilot during the 2026-27 school year, starting with five NASRO locations and up to 20 combined Neighborhood Bridges and NASRO sites. The organizations plan to use the pilot to count the number and types of needs identified, track how quickly communities fill them, gather feedback from officers and administrators and adjust the technology and training before a wider rollout.
Neighborhood Bridges, a charitable organization that runs the technology platform, will build, train and support the system for participating communities. Under the arrangement, giving stays within the community where the need is posted.
"Neighborhood Bridges was built to make it incredibly easy for trusted advocates in our schools to identify a need and give their community an opportunity to respond," said Rick Bannister of Neighborhood Bridges. "School Resource Officers are already on the front lines building relationships with students and families. This partnership gives them another tool to help. Most importantly, 100% of local giving stays in that community and passes through to the kids and families who need it."
NASRO will handle national engagement with its membership, help identify participating communities and promote the program through its conferences and publications. The Sandlin Foundation, founded by Dwight and Sandy Sandlin, is funding technology development, staffing, training, implementation and travel.
"This is exactly the type of collaboration we hoped the Sandlin Foundation could help create," said Dwight Sandlin, founder of the Sandlin Foundation for Kids & Kindness. "We want to bring great organizations together, remove barriers, provide resources and help multiply their impact. When an SRO sees a child who needs help, we want that officer to have a way to turn that need into action."
NASRO's offices are located at 2020 Valleydale Road, Suite 207A.
