‘United Sirens of Chatham-Kent’ visit Dresden, Wallaceburg

The ‘United Sirens of Chatham-Kent met outside of Dresden Foodland on Thursday, September 7, 2017 (Aaron Hall)

A new alliance of first responders in Chatham-Kent visited grocery stores in Dresden and Wallaceburg on Thursday.

As part of the ’12 Days of Positivity’ movement, the ‘United Sirens of Chatham-Kent’ helped pack groceries at Dresden Foodland, Basso’s No Frills in Wallaceburg, along with stops in Tilbury and Blenheim.

“Today is First Responders Day so all of us are going to grocery stores in the outlining areas and bagging groceries for customers,’ Const. Kelly Helbin, public information officer for the Chatham-Kent Police Service, told the Sydenham Current.

Whitney Burk, community safety officer with Chatham-Kent Fire and Emergency Services, said it was a smart move to partner with the Chatham-Kent Police Service and OPP, Chatham-Kent EMS as well as the United Way of Chatham-Kent.

“We have actually formally put together a committee called ‘United Sirens of Chatham-Kent’ just because we have been doing so many events together. Anyway that we can give back to the community, we are on board,” Burk said.

“Besides bagging groceries and carrying them out to the vehicles, we are also collecting donations, canned goods as well as monetary funds to go to the local food banks. So those monies and cans collected in Wallaceburg will stay and go to the Wallaceburg Food Bank and same as in Dresden.”

Const. Jay Denorer, the media officer for the Chatham-Kent OPP, said the committee will continue on passed the ’12 Days of Positivity’.

“We formed the committee because a lot of times, we call on the same people,” Denorer told the Sydenham Current.

“The same first responders come out to help out around the community. So we have Halloween, Shop with a Cop, and events like Positivity Day… it is our way of giving back to our community that gives so much to us.”

Amy Larsen, a Chatham-Kent paramedic, said all the first responders in Chatham-Kent have a strong working relationship.

“It is so nice to step outside of that and do something else with them once in awhile,” she said.

“I truly believe that positivity is very contagious. You get out there, you have a positive attitude and it spreads throughout the community. So this is a very important thing to do.”

Erica Kitchen, coordinator for youth engagement for the United Way in Chatham-Kent, said they are lucky to have the first responders in the community and to have a great partnership with them.

“The work that we do in the community can’t be done without the hard work of first responders and we are so happy to partner up with them every chance we get,” Kitchen told the Sydenham Current.

Making a surprise visit at their Dresden stop, was the spokesperson for the ’12 Days of Positivity’ movement, Captain Positive.

“For positivity to work, people step up all over the community,” said Jason King, a.k.a Captain Positive.

“This is just another way to highlight some of the great people in our community. The first responders, whether it is police, EMS, the fire department, they are there when we need them. They are there when times are tough. Once again, food banks always need food right? They always need groceries or fresh food and here they are stepping up. They are actually getting a lot of money donated as well which is fantastic and they are donating that to the food banks.”

Visit positivitydayinck.com for more details.

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