ALTON - Mustache March 4PD will host their annual benefit to raise money for 15 local police departments.
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The organization will host the event at Bluff City Grill on March 22, 2024. Tickets cost $25 and proceeds will help the organization fund different programs and items for the police departments, from new uniforms and equipment to donations for Shop with a Cop and other community events.
“This is the most fun fundraiser anyone here has ever attended,” said Tina Bennett, vice president of MM4PD. “We really just try to have a night of fun for the police officers. They get to mingle, they get to talk with each other…As long as the funds keep coming in, we want to keep going.”
The benefit will begin with an Honor Guard and a prayer from Chaplain John Gibson. The Gibson Girls will perform alongside the Glendale Riders. Attendees can enjoy the performances, a 50/50 raffle, a mustache contest and more.
The money goes back to MM4PD, which has partnered with Jersey County and Madison County Sheriffs’ Offices as well as the police departments in Alton, Bethalto, Brighton, Bunker Hill, East Alton, Grafton, Hamel, Hartford, Jerseyville, Pontoon Beach, South Roxana, Roxana and Wood River. The organization supports these departments both monetarily and throughout the community.
Peggy Snyder, late Police Officer Blake Snyder’s mother, noted that the police departments need support now more than ever. She believes that by advocating for the police and getting to know local officers, people can make their communities better.
“People want to support the police but they’re kind of like that silent majority. And I think that since we lost Blake and seeing the outpouring of support after his death, it opened my eyes that we can no longer be a silent majority,” she said. “We’re not just supporting the police. If you make a donation, what you’re really doing is saying, ‘I want the police department to be better for me and my family’…This is an investment in your police department, but it really comes back to you. What do you want in your community to make your life safer and to make your community better?”
Bennett said there has been a “disconnect” between communities and the police since 2014, and MM4PD aims to bridge that gap. The organization has a “Be Like Blake” award named for Blake Snyder, and they send officers to National Police Week in Washington, D.C., every year. They have found that many officers are surprised and moved by the appreciation they are shown through MM4PD and National Police Week. To the members of MM4PD, this surprise is evidence that the officers need more vocal support and events like the benefit.
“What I like to do is try to humanize the badge,” Peggy added. “My son was murdered because he wore a uniform and he wore a badge and he was doing the right thing. And we can’t let that happen to officers. That is not what they signed up for…This is a big event. It’s a once a year thing. But the police departments need our support all year long, 24/7. So there’s always a way, not just in this event.”
For more information about Mustache March 4PD and the benefit, visit their official website at MustacheMarch4PD.com. You can buy tickets online or at the event on March 22, 2024. Check out the MM4PD Facebook page for updates.
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