{"id":80201,"date":"2017-04-26T23:29:20","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T03:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=80201"},"modified":"2017-04-26T21:19:36","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T01:19:36","slug":"utica-police-department-named-community-builder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=80201","title":{"rendered":"Utica Police Department named Community Builder"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>UPD\u2019s Adopt a Police Officer program has been recognized by Mohawk Valley Community Action as a winner in their annual Community Champions awards.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Utica Police Department is the recipient of the Community Builder Award in the 2017 Celebration of Community Champions.\u00a0 This award is given to a business or group that has contributed unselfishly to the betterment of our community.\u00a0 This business\/group is involved in the local community and committed to making a difference.<\/p>\n

The Utica Police Department is partnering with 2 of MVCAA\u2019s Head Start classrooms for the Adopt A Police Officer Program.\u00a0 The objective of this program is to provide positive experiences between children and police officers, to celebrate those that protect us and unite the community.\u00a0 The Program began in December, and two police officers, Officer Manny Anken and Officer Jimmy Dongsavanh, visit the classrooms twice a month. The relationships they\u2019ve built with the children have been a positive experience for everyone.<\/p>\n

Melissa Wines, Calvary Head Start Site Supervisor, has this testimonial:<\/u><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Adopt a Police Officer Program has been a huge success here at Calvary. When the Officers first started to visit, many of the students were hesitant and some of our little ones were scared. This is not the case currently. The students love seeing them, and when the Officers walk through the door, the children\u2019s little faces just light up.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Officers talk to the students and make a real effort to get to know each child. They ask them about their lives\u00a0and are genuinely interested in their daily activities. They participate in the classrooms where they sometimes lead the group or just integrate into the current activity. They play with the students, read to them, and have even done Zumba.<\/em><\/p>\n

The last time they came, all of the children gave them a high five or a hug before they left, even our toddlers. These Officers are special; they are kind, considerate, and deeply committed to their profession. I am so grateful to the officers and am so impressed with their compassion for our children.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Past winners of The Community Builder Award include\u00a0Timothy Seymour, Delores Caruso, Thomas Revels, Mohawk Valley EDGE, Dennis Surace, Stephen Zogby, NYS Troop D Zone 1, Kathleen Rinaldo, Craig Grant, Laura Vieira-Suarez, and The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties.<\/p>\n

Officers Anken and Dongsavanh will be honored at the upcoming Community Champions Gala to be held Friday, May 12,\u00a0at Hart\u2019s Hill Inn in Whitesboro at 6 pm<\/span>. Tickets are $75 and are available by calling 315-624-9930<\/a> or at www.MVCAA.com\/Gala<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each year since 2005, MVCAA has honored those individuals, organizations and businesses in our community who are working to help move families out of poverty by creating, sustaining or advocating for opportunities for low-income families. The Community Champions Awards celebrate these accomplishments and allows us to thank them for all of their hard work.\u00a0 MVCAA invites the public to this celebration and encourages local businesses to show their support through sponsorship.\u00a0 Sponsorship details are available at www.mvcaa.com\/gala\/gala-sponsorships<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mohawk Valley Community Action:\u00a0<\/em>Helping People. Changing Lives. Ending Poverty.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mohawk Valley Community Action is the frontline resource for people living in poverty in Oneida and Herkimer Counties, providing direct services and support for education, employment and family support services. For anyone living in the Mohawk Valley, whether they were raised in poverty, or they suddenly find themselves there due to unemployment, disability or a change in household; Mohawk Valley Community Action should be considered their FIRST STEP when seeking assistance. By helping people in poverty follow a clear path to improvement, Mohawk Valley Community Action provides new hope for a better tomorrow<\/span> for those in our community who need it the most.<\/p>\n

Learn more at www.MVCAA.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPD\u2019s Adopt a Police Officer program has been recognized by Mohawk Valley Community Action as a winner in their annual Community Champions awards. The Utica Police Department is the recipient of the Community Builder Award in the 2017 Celebration of Community Champions.\u00a0 This award is given to a business or group that has contributed unselfishly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/80202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}