An open letter to Bethel Park
On behalf of the Bethel Park Police Department, I would like to publicly thank everyone who supported the Police Pals Food Drive, as well as the Police Pals Adopt-A-Family project. Both programs were very successful this past year and we were able to help a lot of families in Bethel Park. The generosity and support shown was tremendous, and it further exemplifies the kind of community Bethel Park is, “A truly generous, caring and close community.” I am proud to be a part of the Bethel Park community, as well as a member of the Bethel Park Police Department.
The food drive was very different this year – in a good way! The Bethel Park Fire Department, as well as Tri Community South EMS, assisted in collecting monetary and food donations during the first two Saturdays in December. The result was more than $5,000 raised and more than 124 well-packed boxes of food. Numerous volunteers also got involved this year in the collections and their efforts did not go unnoticed. We had grade school students, middle school students, high school students, young adults and senior citizens working together for one common goal: to help families in need in our own community. The result was 257 boxes of food distributed, in addition to six and a half truck loads of food donated to SHIM. It is impossible to name every individual that assisted in this effort, but just know your time and efforts were deeply appreciated. I want to thank Two Men and a Truck on Valley Drive for donating the collection boxes and distribution boxes. I would also like to thank all of the businesses that allowed us to put a collection box in their business. I also want to thank Walmart, Giant Eagle and SHOP ‘n SAVE on Route 88 and Giant Eagle Market District for allowing us to collect food and monetary donations on two consecutive Saturdays in December.
I also want to send a special thank you to the Bethel Park Fire Department, and two members in particular – Eva Parker and Rob Knestrick. Without the Fire Department’s help, the food drive would not have been as successful. Firefighters Parker and Knestrick really went above and beyond, and it was truly a nice thing to have the police department, fire department and Tri Community South EMS working together to make a difference in our community.
The Adopt- A-Family also was very successful! We were able to assist 53 families through the program this year. Our goal was to be able to assist 50 families, so we exceeded our goal! The ability to help all of these families was because of the tremendous support of the program from the community. The distribution of the gifts was a truly tremendous experience. Seeing the families that were benefitting from the program and understanding their situations, it was very rewarding to be able to help these families during the holidays. I really appreciate the support from the community in making these programs so successful.
I would also like to thank my family for their continued support and help with making the Food Drive and Adopt- A-Family programs run so smoothly.
Officer Tom Rigatti
Bethel Park Police Department