$1K Raised For Food Pantry By Oswego Citizen's Police Academy Alumni

OSWEGO, IL — Oswego Police Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association donated more than $1,000 to the Kendall County Community Food Pantry, officials announced.

Members met for their monthly meeting Tuesday night and presented a check for $1,018 to Dulce Vargas, assistant director of the food pantry.

"The OCPAAA is a group based on community service and this is one small way they give back to the community," reads a news release from the Oswego Police Department.

The group also surpassed its 2023 goal of providing 1,000 volunteer service hours to the Village of Oswego, totaling 1,018 hours by the end of the year, officials said. Comparatively, volunteers totaled 657 hours in 2022.

Members of the group can often be found helping at festivals and community events held in Oswego throughout each year. They also help police with traffic control, security patrol duties and citizen-assisted radar patrols and assist with the monthly administrative adjudication hearings.

The association is comprised of members who graduated from the Citizen's Police Academy, which is designed to foster cooperation and communication between police and locals by teaching them the ins and outs of the department. The next class is slated to start Feb. 21, and the deadline to apply for the free program is Feb. 16.

RELATED: Registration Kicks Off For 2024 Citizen's Police Academy In Oswego