Attendees pose for a photo during Menifee’s 2024 Faith & Blue event. (Photo courtesy of Menifee Police Department)
The Menifee Police Department, MilVet and the Menifee Interfaith and Community Service Council will come together Saturday, Oct. 3, for a Faith & Blue event to assemble care packages for deployed service members.
The free event will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at Santa Rosa Academy, 27587 La Piedra Road. Registration is required and can be completed through MilVet’s Faith & Blue webpage.
Faith & Blue is a national initiative that brings law enforcement agencies, faith-based organizations and community members together to build relationships and strengthen trust. According to the Faith & Blue organization, the initiative was started in 2020 by MovementForward Inc., working with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
“For us, it’s an opportunity to connect with our community in a different way than our other events,” Menifee Police Community Engagement Specialist Chase Coburn said.
The Menifee Police Department has participated in Faith & Blue since 2020, with the exception of last year. Previous events have included street cleanups, a pancake breakfast and military care package events.
Families, veterans, first responders and other community members can participate in the assembly-line-style event. Each registered participant will receive a box to fill with items from a deployed service member’s wish list.
Coburn said service members or military units sign up through MilVet and provide a wish list, which is shared with event participants. MilVet will then handle shipping the completed care packages.
Organizers are seeking donations of beef jerky and protein snacks, powdered drink mixes, baby wipes, sunscreen, lip balm and handwritten notes or cards of encouragement. Expired items, liquids larger than 3 ounces, aerosols and perishable items should not be donated, according to MilVet.
Donations can be dropped off at the Sun City Library, or at MilVet in Murrieta. The MilVet location accepts drop-offs Tuesdays from 1 to 5 p.m.
