Salem Police Foundation’s 12th annual Breakfast with the Chief is returning this year to the Salem Convention Center.
The event will feature a message from Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack and the foundation will share a review of donations from the past year.
The yearly event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the Salem Police Department.
Past fundraising
Last year’s event, the first in-person breakfast since the COVID-19 pandemic, raised more than $100,000. Foundation officials said 100% of those donations went toward fundraising for the police.
In 2018, the nonprofit Salem Police Foundation donated more than $100,000 to the Salem Police Department for a $600,000 mobile command vehicle used when responding to events like shootings, standoffs and natural disasters.
The 40-foot-long command center allows police to conduct full-scale investigations in the field. Previously, officers had to crowd into cars or work outside during major criminal investigations. The command vehicle now shelters them and provides workspaces, internet connectivity and video monitoring.
More:Salem Police’s new Mobile Command Center includes work stations, 60-inch monitors
Other fundraising efforts over the course of several years have helped the department pay for a fingerprint fume chamber, K-9 training equipment, the Jerry Moore Scholarship program, trauma kits and Brigid the police comfort canine.
The chocolate English Labrador joined the department in 2021, not with the K-9 unit but to help with officer wellness and mental health.
Brigid’s purchase and training were funded entirely from donations through the Salem Police Foundation, which raised and committed $29,000 through the 2021 Breakfast with the Chief.
How to attend Breakfast with the Chief
The fundraising event begins at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 16 at the Salem Convention Center, 200 Commercial St. SE.
Those interested in attending can register online at salempolicefoundation.org/bwtc-2023/.
More information on Salem Police Foundation can be found at SalemPoliceFoundation.org.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth
