Annual Pasadena Police Foundation Breakfast – Oct. 4

This is an opportunity for the community to meet with Interim Pasadena Police Chief John E. Perez and hear him speak on the current goals and accomplishments of the Pasadena Police Department and long-term goals enhancing community connectivity and public safety. – Courtesy photo / Pasadena Police Foundation

The Pasadena Police Foundation invites residents to support the Pasadena Police Department and the many community programs its hosts by attending the Annual Pasadena Police Foundation Breakfast on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 a.m. at the First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena, 3700 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena. Tickets are $65 each. To purchase tickets visit pasadenapolicefoundation.org.

This is an opportunity for the community to meet with Interim Pasadena Police Chief John E. Perez and hear him speak on the current goals and accomplishments of the Pasadena Police Department and long-term goals enhancing community connectivity and public safety.

The event is also a chance to see first-hand how the Pasadena Police Foundation fulfills its mission of “helping cops give kids hope.” Programs supported by the Foundation include; the Kids Safety Academy, Junior Public Safety Academy, Police Explorers and the K-9 Unit.

The Pasadena Police Foundation will also recognize the Myron Yanish Officer of the Year given to an employee that has best served the youth of our community throughout the past year. Also presented is the Bernard K. Melekian Outstanding Youth Award awarded to an individual in recognition of exemplary service to the Pasadena community and their peers.

This year’s Officer of the Year is Park Safety Specialist Michelle White. A native Pasadenan, Michelle White started both her family and business in her home town, operating a daycare center where she nurtured kids and developed her passion for mentoring young people. In 2002, Ms. White began her career at the Pasadena Police Department as a Park Safety Specialist (PSS). For the past 16 years, White has played an instrumental role in creating family friendly environments within the City’s 24 parks. However, it is her outreach to youth that makes her truly unique.

The mother of six children, White has been a foster parent and has actively taken on the role of mentoring many youngsters in the Pasadena community. For ten years, White has served as a Pasadena Police Explorer Advisor where she imparts wisdom, love and life skills
training to youth on their path to adulthood. She routinely volunteers and partners with other City Departments interacting with hundreds of kids each year, building bonds between the Police Department and Pasadena residents. Currently, she is working on several projects to bridge the gap between community organizations and the Police Department. Most notably, she is working with NAACP, MPYD at John Muir High School, and the Loveland Life Center with Pastor B.J King.

White’s efforts speak volumes as to her ability to make a difference in the community she serves with such distinction. The Foundation proudly salute White on her selection as this year’s Police Foundation “Myron Yanish Officer of the Year.”

An opportunity drawing and live auction will be also be held at the event. Donated items include a Pasadena Police Department ride-along in a patrol car, lunch with a K-9 and their Officer, a Pasadena Police Department helicopter ride-along for two, a tour of the Rose Bowl and tickets to a UCLA game, and tickets to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade.

Proceeds from today’s auction and breakfast will go toward the foundation’s mission of providing funding for youth-based programs and activities such as the Kids Safety Academy, Junior Public Safety Academy, and Police Explorers. This year the Foundation is raising funds for the purchase of a van to provide transportation for the Explorers to various activities and events, including assisting law enforcement at multiple large-scale City events.

The Pasadena Police Foundation was founded in 1993 to foster involvement of the Pasadena community with its Police Department. The purpose of the Foundation is to promote and fund programs that further the goals of the Police Department to provide a safe city in partnership with the community.

For more information, contact Catherine Haskett Hany, (626) 793-7454 or chhany@pacbell.net or Lt. Tracey Ibarra, (626) 744-6485 or tibarra@cityofpasadena.net.

More from Community