Pittsburgh police holding donation drive to help neighbors in need
The Pittsburgh police are asking for your help. But the request isn't about solving a crime or finding a missing person. Instead, it's all about officers helping those in need.
Many times, cops give back without being noticed. Then there are times like these when they want to work with residents and the Pittsburgh Office of Community Health and Safety to help families in need and those experiencing homelessness.
"I think there are so many people who don't know what police do behind the scenes or what they often do on scene when they are dealing with people who have dealt with a tragedy or a fire or another tragedy of that nature," said Pittsburgh Public Safety public information officer Cara Cruz. "They are very caring people. They sometimes have their cars stocked with things for children."
Police are looking for non-perishables like beef jerky, protein bars and trail mix. They're also accepting hygiene items like shampoo, body wash and toothbrushes.
Donation bins are set up at all Pittsburgh police zone offices, or you can ship donations directly to Pittsburgh police Zone 5. You can also scan a QR code for an Amazon wish list.
"What we're going to do in this instance is we're going to collect for three weeks or four weeks because it's all non-perishables and then we're gonna take that and we're gonna make bags and we're going to go out with the CHS or the ROOTS team and we're gonna hand out the bags," said Sergeant Celena Celender.
ROOTS program manager Ben Talik said they've engaged with over 1,500 people within the last month.
"These same engagements we're having every single day of the week with the added bonus of having some food on hand with these great donations," Talik added.
