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Welcome To Our Other Goodwill Projects
Presidential Volunteer Service Award
Recognizing and honoring volunteers sets a standard for service to
others. It encourages a sustained commitment to civic participation and inspires others to make
volunteering a central part of their lives. The President's Volunteer Service Award recognizes
individuals, families, and groups that have achieved a certain standard – measured by the number
of hours served over a 12-month period or cumulative hours earned over the course of a lifetime.
To date, the President's Council has partnered with more than 76 Leadership Organizations and
more than 14,000 Certifying Organizations to bestow more than 400,000 awards to the Nation's
deserving volunteers.
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Fingerprinting Project
The KPOA is the first law enforcement affiliated organization in the state of New Hampshire to utilize the SentryKIDS® FingerTIPS fingerprint system. The system is a robust software program that electronically captures 10 fingerprints or two thumbprints, photo and vital biographical information. The FingerTIPS software program produces two popular ID formats.
Statistics show that 34 percent of parents in the United States do not know their child's exact height, weight and eye color. And, when a child is reported missing, time can be the greatest adversary. The first few hours of any investigation into a missing child are extremely critical. Possessing up-to-date photographs and detailed information about a child can prove to be important proactive measures that can greatly assist local law enforcement officials to quickly respond to a child's disappearance.
FingerTIPS can print a Bio-Doc, an 8-by-11-inch document that includes a color digital photo, 10 finger prints and personal information of the person fingerprinted to include parental information as well as distinguishing marks. This Bio-Doc can be printed on plain bond paper or on pre-printed cards. Fingerprints can also be saved to a CD or Bio-Disk and can be viewed on any computer.
The FingerTIPS system is used by other larger agencies such as the Boston Police Department and the Klaas Kids Foundation for Children.
Having up-to-date information on your child will enable law enforcement agencies to electronically disseminate essential missing child information, statewide if necessary, within minutes and dramatically increase the possibility of bringing a missing child home unharmed. In addition to being able to quickly provide important details to police agencies investigating child disappearances, the SentryKIDS® FingerTIPS Fingerprint Card will serve as an important tool when used in conjunction with the New Hampshire Amber Alert System.
If your business, organization or club would like to sponsor a child safety fingerprint event and utilize the SentryKIDS® FingerTIPS system, please contact the Keene Police Officer's Association at 283-7600 or e-mail us at kpoa@ne.rr.com and we will get back to you to discuss the arrangements to have a KPOA member at the event.
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Youth Reading
The Keene Police Officers Association team up with the Friends of the Library to promote literacy and at the same time reduce crime. Literacy is defined as the ability to understand and employ printed information in daily activities. At home, at work, and in the community, to achieve one's goals and to develop one's knowledge and potential, we must work together to address the education gap in our country.
It is the belief of many that there is a relationship between youth illiteracy and crime. While there is no conclusive evidence to support this claim, however the statistics seem to indicate a strong relationship between low literacy skills and increased levels of crime in later years; the higher the level of literacy, the lower the crime rate. On average, offenders have significantly lower literacy skills than the general population. Without addressing the root causes, the possibility of rehabilitation is also seriously hindered. ("Without literacy there can be no justice." Burt Galaway, John Howard Society, 1997.) A literate society is more productive, healthier, and globally competitive. As a developed nation, we have to ask ourselves if it is more cost effective to invest in literacy initiatives now or attempt to recoup the immeasurable costs of an illiterate society; i.e.: build more jails, that are associated with higher crime rates later.
It is important to emphasize that the majority of people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds do not become criminals. However, low literacy levels may play a role in criminal behavior. Individuals with limited literacy skills have fewer opportunities for training and employment, and fewer options in life. Literacy training can help youth at risk to make more choices about their future. Increased literacy levels can make children, including those on the fringes, feel like part of their community. That is why the Keene Police Officers Association is endorsing Youth literacy programs and getting involved in programs such as the Keene Public Library's Curious George Project.
"The Curious George Reading program emphasizes early reading and pre-reading skills. Parents are so important in helping their children become ready to read, and it begins from birth. Early literacy research has shown that the home environment and specifically the language interaction between parent and young child are key components in later reading success. The Curious George Reading program is a fun way for adults to become comfortable sharing books and literature with young children which in turn helps young children grew to be successful readers," said Gail Zachariah, Head of Youth and Community Services at the Keene Public Library.
Today's child is tomorrow's employee. To ensure our ongoing success as businesses, we need to make certain the pool of candidates from which we choose our future employees is socially adaptable, educated, knowledgeable, and skilled.
"We must work to develop partnerships among parents, youth and the community to strengthen and empower individuals, families, and neighborhoods to foster the optimal development of children, youth, and adults. We need to ensure that families and youth "at-risk," especially children in the custody of the state, are provided with interventions such as early literacy and remedial schooling. We need to provide consistent and accessible supports to children, families, and adults. Therefore we are proud to be making a donation to the Keene Public Library's Youth Literacy Program to ensure that literacy programs such as the 'Curious George Reading Program' are able to continue," said John Stewart, President of the Keene Police Officers Association.
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Operation Identification
Operation Identification is a program geared towards the businesses in Keene. Operation Identification encourages community business members to mark or identify valuables as a proactive measure against thefts or burglaries. The concept behind Operation Identification is that stolen articles, that are marked, are easily traced and difficult to sell. Permanently marked valuables are more difficult for the burglar to dispose of and many times he/she won't bother stealing these items.
Upon your request, the Keene Police Officer's Association will lend your business an electric engraver — free of charge — to mark their business possessions using a unique identifier, such as their business EIN #, their favorite number, business name, or the last 4 digits of you're driver's license number. Using one of the above means to mark their valuables is beneficial to prove ownership should the article be stolen and recovered by the police (download the following files to get started).
The Keene Police Officer's Association does not encourage the use of your individual Social Security number be used to identify your businesses valuable items. Federal regulations governing the identity of Social Security registrants make the numbers impossible to trace.
If your business happens to own your own engraver or has the ability to mark your valuables in another fashion, the Officer's Association will provide your business with a window sticker upon request - free of charge - as an added line of protection against theft or burglary.
Suggested items for marking: Typewriters, computers, cash registers, safes, power tools, etc. In addition, the Keene Police Officer's Association encourages everyone to photograph or videotape the contents of their business that can't be engraved with the owner's identification. A complete description of the article should be written on the back of the photograph. Once you've engraved your property, be sure to maintain a list of the articles, manufacturer & model, serial number and location number, photographs or video tapes in a safe place.
Please feel free to contact the Keene Police Officer's Association about Operation Identification, to borrow the engraver, or to request the window sticker by calling the Association at (603) 499-CSI1 ( 2741 ) or contacting us by US Mail to P.O. Box 1416 Keene, NH 03431.
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