Twenty children from Wareham Public Schools have the chance to attend a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program this summer, thanks to a grant from the Wareham-New Bedford Lodge of Elks.

The grant, which was presented to the Wareham Police Department outside police headquarters Wednesday evening, was for $1,000. Wareham Police Chief Kevin Walsh said he is very thankful for the check.

“[The kids] will learn ... not just the drug resistance education,” Walsh said. “They will learn team-building exercises, how to interact with each other better, to avoid peer pressure, things like that.”

The program is a week long, and will take place at the Whitman-Hanson High School in Whitman. It focuses on preventing the use of controlled drugs, membership in gangs, and youth violence through education at an early age.

Walsh said the police department’s school resource officer, Karl Baptiste, is in charge of choosing the students who will attend the program. Walsh said the students who participate are changed for the better.

“I went to the graduation last year,” Walsh said. “It’s a great thing to go to. To see all the kids from different towns, and the transformations … it’s unbelievable.