Today, Ben announced the seventh and eighth grants of the 2015-16 season from The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.
Christmas has come early for two police agencies –
Ben’s foundation will be distributing grants to the Ludlow (KY) Police Department and the Middletown (OH) Police Department, just east and north, respectively, of Cincinnati where the Steelers will play the Bengals on Sunday, December 13th.
Both police departments have recently expanded their K-9 units to include narcotics detection dogs. The Ludlow Police Department plans to apply the grant awarded toward the purchase of two vehicle kennel inserts, while the Middletown Police Department will upgrade the storage trailer and purchase items for training with grant funds.
During the 2015-16 NFL season, The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation will be distributing grants to K-9 units of police and fire departments in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers. The Foundation will also distribute several grants to the Pittsburgh area and will consider a grant to a non-NFL market city in the United States for each playoff game in which the Steelers compete. The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation invited police and fire departments across the country to submit proposals detailing their needs.
This marks the ninth season that the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation has distributed grants to K-9 units. The mission of the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation is to support K-9 units of police and fire departments throughout the United States, with a particular emphasis on support for service dogs in Pittsburgh, PA. Roethlisberger and the Foundation also support Make-A-Wish.
“We’re very fortunate to be in the position that we are able to help these K-9 units. The work that is performed by the dogs and their handlers as well as the bond that is formed is incredible. We’re just thrilled to do our small part.” — Ben.
The Foundation distributed more than $130,000 in grants to K-9 units around the country during the 2014-15 NFL season and has distributed in excess of $1.3 million since 2007.
Middletown Chief of Police Rodney Muterspaw said, “A huge thank you to the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for their kind support in our endeavors. We have a long history of an excellent K-9 program here in Middletown. Our newest K-9 team (Warrick & Odin) will start in January and will be different than any other team we have had at MPD. Unlike past K-9s that have been assigned to patrol duties, this K-9 will be a drug detector dog assigned exclusively to the Special Operations unit. This assignment further strengthens the city’s commitment to battle the heroin epidemic.”
Ludlow Chief of Police Scott Smith said, “We, along with our partners at the Fraternal Order of Police Associate Lodge, are very excited to have been selected as one of the grant recipients of The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation. The police K-9s that this helps us fund will help make an impact in the heroin epidemic facing the region. We can’t wait to work with them to continuing building stronger relationships with our community.”
Fans can support future K-9 grants by purchasing candy on Sarris Candies’ website, (www.SarrisCandiesFundraising.com), using a special purchase code (77-7777). Sarris will donate 25 percent of the purchase price to the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation.
For more information about the foundation or The Giving Back Fund, please contact Jessica Duffaut at www.givingback.org.
And speaking of Cincinnati….
Steelers Mexico fan club, Regios de Acero is making the lonnnng bus trip from Monterray, Mexico today to Paul Brown Stadium to watch their beloved Steelers take on the Bengals on Sunday afternoon!
Before boarding, we got them to stop just long enough to take a club photo for us!
Oh, and what are they calling the bus bringing them to their annual Steelers game?
The Big Ben Express, of course!!
Safe travel friends!!!
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