Today, Ben announced two grant awards from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund. The Foundation will be distributing a grants to the Flemington Borough Police Department in New Jersey, and the Town of Kent Police Department in New York, following the Steelers’ matchup against the New York Jets yesterday.


During the 2019 NFL season, The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation is 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. The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation invited police and fire departments across the country to submit proposals detailing their needs.

This marks the 13th season that the Ben’s foundation has distributed grants to K-9 units. His mission is to support K-9 units of police and fire departments throughout the United States, with a particular emphasis on support for working dogs in Pittsburgh, PA.

Both the Borough of Flemington and the Town of Kent Police Departments will use the grant funds to purchase safety and training equipment for their two-dog K-9 teams.


The Flemington Police Department would first like to thank Ben Roethlisberger and his great Foundation for their support. We are honored to have been selected for this grant. Without the Foundation, departments like ours would not be able to keep K-9 units operating. Our K-9 Unit which was formed in 2017, solely operates on fundraising and donations. This grant will be used to keep both of our K-9’s well-equipped and safe so that they can continue apprehending criminals and keep up with the fight against drugs in Flemington and surrounding communities. We are very appreciative and our K9’s Jax and Kita (pictured below) will benefit greatly.— Lieutenant William Soriano, Flemington Borough Police Department.



The Town of Kent Police K-9 Unit is humbled by the generous grant for equipment from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation. We are a small department and are consistently looking for ways to better serve our community without placing a larger tax burden on our residents. Our two dogs are a vital part of our department and our community; in the last several years they have tracked both endangered persons and criminal suspects, located evidence, conducted countless demos for community and school programs and have assisted our officers and surrounding departments with taking dangerous narcotics off the street. This grant will allow the unit to train more efficiently and also create a safer operational environment for our two K-9’s and their handlers. K9 Radar and K9 Maverick (pictured below) are both very happy! — Sergeant Alex VanderWoude, Town of Kent Police Department.


Ben’s foundation distributed more than $145,000 in grants to K-9 units around the country during the 2018 NFL season, including $70,000 in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas. They have distributed in excess of $2.1 million since 2007, $1.7 million of which has specifically benefited K-9 programs domestically.



Hey fans!


Sarris Candies has teamed up with Ben once again and will donate 25 percent of the purchase price to the his Foundation. Now that’s a sweet deal!

You can support future K-9 grants by purchasing candy on their website, (www.SarrisCandiesFundraising.com)!

Just use a special purchase code of 77-7777 when ordering.


Thank you to Sarris Candies!



For more information about Ben’s foundation or The Giving Back Fund, please contact Jessica Duffaut at www.givingback.org.




Also Today:


Good morning, Erin. I hope this email finds you well.

I wanted to take this opportunity to send an update on our K-9 Niko. Niko was purchased through funding from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation in 2010. He has served our community since then with his partner, Officer Lou Parrotta. Niko will be retiring on 12.31.2019 from active duty. At our council meeting last night, Niko and Officer Parrotta received recognition for their years of service as our K-9 team. Since Niko was funded from this foundation, I wanted to pass along this information to you, as a sign of this successful venture. I am including a photo of Ofc. Parrotta and Niko.

Thank you and Happy Holidays to you.

Anthony E. Cortazzo
Chief of Police
Baldwin Borough Police Department
3344 Churchview Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15227



Congratulations to K9 Niko on his retirement!!