Salvation Army gives to PdC K-9 unit
The Crawford County Salvation Army board recently chose to donate $500 to the Prairie du Chien Police Department’s K-9 unit, which is comprised of Officer Casey Cox (back, left) and his K-9 partner Rico. Also pictured are Jen Kapinus, the local Salvation Army coordinator, and Police Chief Chad Abram. (Photo by Correne Martin)
By Correne Martin
Emergency services are always the number one priority of the Salvation Army, according to Crawford County Salvation Army Coordinator Jen Kapinus. In addition, when there’s special funds available, the organization’s board of directors has the opportunity to select local charities they feel are part of their mission to meet human needs.
Recently, the Salvation Army donated $500 to the new Prairie du Chien Police Department’s K-9 unit, which is comprised of Officer Casey Cox and his partner Rico.
The Salvation Army also gave $1,000 to the Couleecap Food Pantry.
“We depend on our community relationships to give to people throughout the county,” Kapinus said. “[The K-9] donation is important because 1) we have such a drug problem in this county and a lot of my clients are drug users, 2) the relationship we have with the police department, city and county have been very good to us.”
The local police officers ring bells for the Salvation Army over the holidays and sponsor families for its Christmas program, they write vouchers for those who need perishable foods and other necessities, and they often stand by if Kapinus needs them when meeting with her clients.
The $500 K-9 donation will go toward the purchase of a bite suit and sustaining the program for the future.
By supporting the K-9 unit, the Crawford County Salvation Army’s board hopes to eventually lessen the frequency of helping drug users in the county’s communities, Kapinus said.
