If you have a couple extra hours during your week and would like to help make a difference in your community, consider volunteering for the Santa Maria Police Department.
According to Training Coordinator Chrissy Alvarez, the volunteer program was first established in 1996. Since its beginning, volunteers have donated 46,830 hours of service.
Volunteers help the department during normal hours of operation, and during times of emergency and disaster.
Alvarez said volunteers, after an extensive background check and a training period, could assist the department in a variety of ways. Some volunteer duties may include marking or warning abandoned vehicles, towing vehicles, conducting security checks, and assisting with clerical work in the Traffic Bureau or Records department. In addition, volunteers get to learn how the department operates.
Alvarez said the Santa Maria Police Department could use 20 to 25 volunteers, and they currently need two volunteers in their Records department, but they’re always accepting volunteers for any position. Alvarez said volunteers are asked to donate between eight and 10 hours a week.
Volunteering with the Santa Maria Police Department not only helps the community stay safe, but also allows staff to use limited tax dollars for services, and with mounting budget cuts and strained services, volunteers are more crucial to the department than ever before.
Alvarez said volunteers save the department thousands every year by providing necessary services so the police can focus their attention on stopping crime. According to Alvarez, they have volunteers who’ve been with the department for 10 years; most of the volunteers are retired.
“A lot of people just want to give back to their community,” Alvarez said.
Interested in volunteering? Call 928-3781 for more information.
Staff Writer Kristina Sewell compiled this week’s Community Corner. Send comments or ideas to the Sun via e-mail at ksewell@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 19-26, 2012.