Staff Report
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse, a 501(c)(3) corporation which raises money to assist the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, provided a donation of $10,000 recently, with specific instructions that it should be used to purchase supplies and personal protective equipment for Sheriff’s personnel.
Members of the Benevolent Posse’s Board of Directors presented the donation to Sheriff Bill Brown at Sheriff’s headquarters. The Sheriff’s Office plans to use the donation to purchase much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE) for line-level staff who work in patrol and custody settings, as well as necessary supplies to keep all of the employees at the Sheriff’s Office safe, such as masks, hand sanitizer and disinfecting supplies.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office budget is limited, so it relies on donations to fund certain programs and equipment items that are beyond budget resources.
“The Posse is a group of incredibly dedicated philanthropists who seek donations and grants to benefit the Sheriff’s Office,” Brown said. “Because of their extraordinary generosity we are able to provide programs and resources to our people and our communities that would otherwise not be available.”
The Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse raises funds annually to support the D.A.R.E. and Explorer programs, and Sheriff’s K-9 and Mounted Enforcement units. The Posse has also purchased important protective equipment and supplies for the department, including helmets and protective vests for the Custody Operations Special Operations Response Team, ballistic vests for the department K-9’s, and contributions towards the purchase of the Hostage Negotiations Team command post vehicle, to name a few.
“The Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse owes a deep debt of gratitude to the donors to the Posse —especially the anonymous donor who donated this $10,000 with the specific request that it be used for COVID-19 protective equipment,” said Sara O’Shaughnessy, the president of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse. “It’s only due to generous donors like this that the Posse is able to assist the Sheriff’s Office in filling their unfunded, urgent needs.”
For more information about the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Benevolent Posse and ways to support your Sheriff’s Office, please visit https://www.sbsheriffsposse.org.
