Home Antioch Antioch Youth Helps Raise $6,200 for Antioch K-9 Unit

Antioch Youth Helps Raise $6,200 for Antioch K-9 Unit

by ECT

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Thanks to the fundraising efforts of 13-year-old Hailey Renee Hartrick, Antioch Police Canines will be safer on the job after $6,200 has been raised during a fundraiser Tuesday night.

The fundraiser was held at Tailgaters Sports Bar newest location in Antioch where they donated a portion of proceeds to Hartricks efforts.

According to Tom Hartrick, Hailey’s father, she got the idea to fund raise after attending an Antioch Rotary meeting where a canine officer came and spoke.

“I took her to a Rotary meeting and she listened to the officer speak. She walked up to me after listening to him and said we need to raise $4,800 to protect these dogs and get them bullet proof vests,” said Hartrick.

At the time, $4,800 would have bought all six-canines vests and equipment, but the community stepped up and raised additional funding for future purchases.

Hartrick said Hailey did all the work, he just guided her during the planning process of the event. She went and spoke with the owner of Tailgaters while coordinating the event—picking out flyer text, times, dates. Tailgaters was also chosen because they were a new business in Antioch and wanted to give them an opportunity to become involved with the community.

Hartrick was proud of his daughter and thought this effort was perfect for her.

“I think it’s great because she is a very social person who likes to be around people, she enjoys the social aspect of being around people and doing good things. The reward as parents its one of those things you can’t say enough good things about her efforts,” explained Hartrick. “It’s tremendously rewarding.”

Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando was appreciative of the community support for not only the canine unit, but for Hartricks efforts.

“I was again humbled by the amount of support this community continues to provide the Antioch Police Department.  The event organizer, Hailey Hartrick, did an exceptional job of fund raising for the event.  We are lucky to have such wonderful young people in our community like Hailey!” said Cantando.

Another aspect of the fundraiser was to help educate the public on how important these dogs are to the community.

Canines assist police officers in a variety of ways because they can search with their sense of smell and cover more ground quickly. They also reduce the risk of officer injuries just by being on scene as a visual deterrent. In some cases, when a canine shows up, some subjects simply “give up” for a fear of the bite.

The cost of a canine does not come cheap, the dogs can cost anywhere from $7,500 to $10,000. Then you have training, equipment, vet bills, food, and retrofitting of police vehicles which could bring the total cost of a canine to around $25,000.

“It’s about making the community aware of how these dogs work and how they support the community,” explained Hartrick. “We would like to start an on-going campaign to get the citizens to adopt a canine officer to pick up some of the financial burdens officers have with these dogs. The goal is to help the canine unit to become self-reliant through community donations which will happen over time, but it’s a goal.”

The ultimate idea for Hartrick is to have a non-profit to where they help fund every police dog to ensure its outfitted with a vest in east county–but they will begin in Antioch.

Hartrick estimates about 300 people attended Tuesdays event which was more than expected and the outcome was perfect.

“The community really gave during the time of the year when they may already be tapped out,” said Hartrick.

For those of you who cannot attend but wish to donate to the APD K-9 unit, you may do so online at the Antioch Police Department website using PayPal.

Photos provided by Lori Cook

 

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5 comments

Dale Dec 12, 2013 - 3:14 pm

What a great story!!

Lori Dec 12, 2013 - 3:32 pm

Hailey is a wonderful 13 year old who is already making a difference. Just think what she will do when she is older.

Bill Cook Dec 12, 2013 - 5:22 pm

An AWESOME young lady. A real positive for The City of Antioch.

Reginald Jamal Brown Dec 13, 2013 - 12:11 am

Way to go Hailey!! You are an outstanding citizen who has much more maturity, dedication, and integrity than most people in this city.

Middle School Student Helps Raise $11,672 for Antioch K-9 Unit | East County Today Jan 15, 2014 - 1:21 pm

[…] $11,672 was an increase from our Dec. 12 article which highlighted she raised $6,200 during the fundraiser at Tailgaters Sports Bar in Antioch.  At […]

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