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Posted by: admin on Jul 28, 2009 - 03:41 PM
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Fundraising Effort Begins to Support/Save Mounted Patrol
Amherst, MA: On the heels of the disbandment of the Boston Police Department’s mounted unit, the University of Massachusetts Police Department (UMPD) announces that its horse-mounted unit has been directed to solicit private funds for the first time since 2000.
Projected cutbacks in state aid, rising stable fees, lack of suitable horses, and the depletion of trust funds may force the UMPD mounted unit to be reduced or eliminated in Fiscal Year 2011. As such, a preemptive fundraising campaign has been authorized.
UMPD is soliciting the public and corporations to assist the mounted patrol by providing a tax-deductible contribution to the UMass Mounted Police Fund. The goal is to raise sufficient funds (to offset projected reductions within the UMPD operating budget) so as the horses may continue to ride to the rescue for the foreseeable future.
As part of a state-assisted public university, the UMPD mounted unit can accept private contributions and form public-private partnerships to save the horse patrol program. A trust fund exists for these purposes, yet today it only holds approximately $600 dollars.
The annual operating budget for the UMPD mounted unit is approximately $25,000; compared to the $600,000 yearly cost of the BPD mounted unit, and the estimated $80,000 per year for the Boston ranger’s mounted unit.
The public is asked to pledge its support by contributing on-line at www.umass.edu/give, under the gift allocation “Mounted Police”, or by calling the UMass Development Office at 866-450-UMASS.
During the recession of 1989, community support and gifts of over $70,000 helped launch the return of the mounted unit to the UMass campus and surrounding university-owned state forests.
The UMass Police Mounted Unit celebrates its 20th anniversary on patrol this September. The unit’s history includes providing services such as community relations, sponsoring a child ID program, supporting charities, confronting hostile World Series and Super Bowl rioters, and enforcing laws.
For further information please contact Police Officer C.J. Stechmann or Lieutenant David White, UMPD Mounted Unit, at (413) 545-2121.
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