Volunteering is a rewarding experience for both the volunteers and those receiving support. This September Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office helped bring communities together by facilitating multiple volunteering opportunities. Sheriff Bradshaw invites members of the Palm Beach community to explore the wide variety of volunteering opportunities that the sheriff’s office offers.
“Our mission is to safeguard the lives and property of the people and communities we serve, to reduce crime and to enhance public safety while working with our diverse communities to improve their quality of life,” said Sheriff Bradshaw.
These programs work together effectively to provide a safer community for Palm Beach County residents.
Volunteers Against Scams Team (VAST) works to advocate and assist citizens of Palm Beach County that have been targeted as victims of financial crimes. The team works to prevent additional victimization by providing assistance for those recovering from crimes, such as identity theft and fraud, and to educate citizens on how to avoid future risk.
The Child ID Unit is another volunteer program Sheriff Bradshaw advocates for. The program provides proactive measures to help authorities with missing children by photographing, fingerprinting and collecting data on physical characteristics. Many of the volunteers are teachers that have the skills and abilities to work well with the children. This month alone, the Child ID Unit worked with Cholee Lake Elementary School and Renaissance Charter School.
Another volunteer group through the PBSO is Volunteer Emergency Response Team (VERT). VERT works on scenes of vehicle accidents, down power lines, school traffic control and more to manage traffic flows. By helping to direct traffic, VERT allows police officers to focus on the incident to quickly resolve it.
Members of these volunteer programs excitedly work out in the community, connecting face-to-face with citizens and children on a variety of events.
The volunteers also worked to ensure students in the community were well prepared for school. Both the San Castle Community event and the Back-to-School Walmart event supplied children in need with school supplies for the upcoming year.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office established its volunteer program in 1989 and has grown to over 1,600 citizen volunteers since then. These volunteers work to enhance and strengthen the future of their community and improve the quality of life. To learn more and to join the volunteers, write to [email protected].
