Police Car Crammed With Goodwill

The goal was collect about 800 pounds of non-perishable food items over four hours in three days.

In just two days, 12 Division Auxiliary officers surpassed their target by a wide margin. They collected 1,630 pounds in about three hours.

“The outcome was a huge success,” said Auxiliary officer Andrea Hafeez who organized the drive with her colleague Gerard Chalasinski. “The overall experience was overwhelming and the thought of knowing that the entire 12 Division Auxiliary team came out to help and support such a great cause was exhilarating.”

The drive took place at two No Frills locations in the community and donations were made to the Weston Emergency Support Food Bank.

I conceived the idea for the successful food drive but myAuxiliaries ran with it. They met with the store owners and made all the necessary arrangements. I am so proud of them and what they were able to accomplish in such a short time. There are many families in our Division who are on tight incomes and welcome something like this, especially at this time of year.

The 12 Division Auxiliaries will stage another food drive on January 10 and 11.

"The focus will be on the Somali community, so we will be reaching out to local Halal supermarkets,” said Hafeez. “We will also be looking to do additional food drives all year round to mark holidays such as Easter and Thanksgiving.”