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Constable Mark Heffernan - 2003 Bud Knight Award Recipient
Constable Mark Heffernan is a member of the Brockville Police
Service. He has been an outstanding volunteer with the youth
of Brockville since being hired as a summer student with the
police department in May 2000. From the very start, Cst. Heffernan
volunteered with area youth at the local YMCA at a Saturday
night youth program getting children off the streets and into
the gym, the pool and into the weight room. He has also been
very involved with Youth Unlimited, which is a Youth Centre
for high-risk youth that come from very needy backgrounds
where they have very low self-esteem and are struggling academically.
Cst. Heffernan works day and night with youth during his free
time. He started a street-wise program that takes these children
off the street and into the Youth Centre and works on their
self-esteem, teaching them about the problems of drugs, alcohol,
bullying and social problems.
Cst. Heffernan works with a number of people who he has recruited
from St. Lawrence College and Grenville Christian College,
as well as friends in the community who have joined his team
of dedicated volunteers. He also stops by as much as he can
while on duty, to assist at both the YMCA and at the Youth
Centre building a very strong rapport with at-risk children.
A large number of children have made huge advancements as
a result of his dedicated and tireless effort working with
them at these centres.
One of the most interesting programs that Constable Heffernan
started has been having a group of inner-city children volunteer
with him at the Rosedale Retirement Home working with elderly
citizens. When Cst. Heffernan is not busy at the Youth Centre,
the retirement home or the YMCA, he is helping out as an Adopt-a-Cop
at the TISS Alternative School that is a school for children
that have dropped out of school and are attempting to graduate.
Cst. Heffernan is also volunteering with the Big Brothers
Committee assisting with young children. Also he is currently
working extremely hard in a leadership and coordinating role
with the City of Brockville to open up a youth sports facility
where inner-city kids can skateboard, paint ball and hang
out when they have free time.
One of the most impressive programs that Cst. Heffernan initiated
this past year was a Thanksgiving Dinner for inner-city youth.
He went to local merchants and restaurants getting food and
beverages for inner-city kids to have a free Thanksgiving
dinner. Cst. Heffernan encourages senior members of the Brockville
Police Service and other volunteers to help with this dinner.
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