Tempe Officers Supporting their Community with Tools for Change
Tempe Police Officers put down their regular, daily “tools” and picked up rakes and string trimmers to help their community last month. Each graduating academy class starts off their thin blue line service with some ToolBank blue tools as an opportunity to gain empathy and connection with the local community they have sworn to protect and serve.
This month’s community member was an elderly woman who had recently lost her husband. They were Tempe residents that had spent their entire married life in the same home, raising children and contributing to their community. Rob Ferraro, President of the Tempe Officers Association said, “with all of the changes and challenges our neighbor has endured, landscaping should be the furthest thing from her mind, so our cops wanted to lift that load from her shoulders”.
Armed with string trimmers, rakes, action hoes and loppers these new officers set out to work in service of their community. Just a few short hours later and her yard was back to normal, a burden lifted, and a place where she could once again enjoy. Ferraro said “it is incredible to see what a few hard working officers can do for a community member when equipped with the right tools. We wouldn’t have access to those right tools if it wasn’t for Phoenix ToolBank”. Not only does ToolBank provide the tools necessary for each of their projects, the knowledgeable and trained ToolBank staff have provided tool recommendations to ensure each job is properly equipped. ToolBank looks forward to more pictures of these transformational projects from the Tempe Officers Association as they continue to serve their community in more ways than one.