Fundraiser to buy equipment for police fitness center
Published 7:00 am Friday, March 2, 2018
- Tonya Dawsey opens one of the lockers that will be used by officers of the Picayune Police Department in the newly built workout facility. Photo by Victor Tun
Tonya Dawsey is currently holding a fundraiser under the moniker “Fit For Duty Campaign,” to stock the newly built training facility near the Picayune Police Department with exercise equipment for officer use.
Dawsey said she’s asking people to donate pocket change as part of the effort. Donations will be used to pay for the workout equipment that will be put inside of the new training facility by mid-March.
She said the total cost of the new workout equipment is about $39,000. Through many donations from the community, they have been able to raise just over $37,000 in a span of seven months.
“Local businesses and people in the community have participated in the ‘Fit for Duty Campaign’ and we truly appreciate everyone’s donations,” Dawsey said. “We have had little girls come in with their piggy banks and donate their coins, it’s been a great experience.”
To participate, donations can be made by visiting Bodies by Tonya.
Local businesses can also participate by picking up a jar from her business to display in their location. Once the jar is full, it can be brought back to Dawsey.
Contributions to the campaign can also be made by visiting any First National Bank branch and donating to the “Saving Police Lives Fit for Duty Campaign” account.
The new building adjacent to the Picayune Police Department station was built through an anonymous donation last year, but there was no money in the city’s budget to purchase workout equipment. In response, Dawsey decided to start collecting donations.
“The building will give our officers an opportunity to come in and work out anytime of the day, whether that is before or after their shift,” Dawsey said.
Dawsey said water service was recently installed in the building a couple of days ago so now they are just waiting for the workout equipment to be delivered and installed.
“Everyone in the Police Department is excited about this and everyone in the community has been great, we could not have done it without them,” Dawsey said.
Bodies by Tonya is located at 111 N. Main St. in Picayune.
