Rotary District 7930 has been awarded a $30k grant from the Rotary Foundation to sponsor a Vocational Training Team (VTT) to Kent, England this May. The team will study and exchange best practices in the areas of substance abuse prevention, mental health, school and law enforcement relationships, and school threat assessment. Rotarian Team Leader Amy Luckiewicz commented, “This team is the first time the Rotary Foundation has sponsored a law enforcement training team from this area. The ability to offer local School Resource Officers the opportunity to participate in this level of international learning is exciting, impactful, and rare.” Four School Resource Officers were competitively selected to join the team to travel to England for two weeks. Sergeant Daniel Perenick (Winchester), Detective Dawne Armitstead (Winthrop), Detective Paul Lucci (North Reading), and Officer Megan Tierney (Newburyport) will join team leader Amy Luckiewicz (Wakefield) in May.
The team will visit the county of Kent in the United Kingdom, and focus on the area of Ashford. Once there, they will work alongside British law enforcement officers and engage in strategic planning, classroom learning, and tactical training. In turn, the American team will provide the British officers with information on how their home departments address community concerns. Evenings will be spent as “cultural ambassadors.” Luckiewicz explained, “During our off-time, we will be engaging with the community, mostly through the British local Rotary clubs. This may include giving presentations, attending Rotary meetings, or volunteering on a project.” In fact, the team will be participating in the Ashford Rotary's Dragon Boat fundraiser on their last day in England.
Officers are expected to bring back new ideas and best practices to their home communities. A successful VTT increases the capacity of the communities to solve problems and improve the quality of life. Funding for these teams is from a competitive funded by global and local donations to The Rotary Foundation.
Amy would like to thank the multiple communities and Rotary clubs who offered and prepared law enforcement candidates. Thanks also goes to District Governor Bob Wood and Foundation Chair Liz Cullen for their support. She's also like to thank Past District Governor Dave Gardner, Winchester Rotarian Marnee Walsh and Wakefield Rotarian Chief Rick Smith for serving on the selection/interview committee.
In addition, the District will be hosting a reception for team members and their families on Wednesday, April 24th at Granite Coast Brewing Company in Peabody. Local Rotarians are invited to attend the reception, but must register at https://rotary7930.org/event/vocational-training-team-friends-and-family-recept/.