TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – Some families in the town will have a happier holiday season this year thanks to a 30-year tradition of the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Benevolent Association. Union President Kristopher Barnhart said this year’s program will provide Adams Fairacre Farm gift cards to more than 100 families.
According to Detective Dawn Anemelos, the yearly tradition usually involves the donation of a basket of food to each of the families. In the first year, the police delivered a holiday meal to one family and the tradition has grown over three decades. Due to COVID precautions, gift cards have been substituted for gift baskets.
Anemelos is assigned to the department’s Juvenile Division and worked with the Spackenkill School District, Sheafe Road, Oak Grove, Vassar Road, Kinry Road Elementary, Arthur S. May, and Violet Avenue Schools to develop a list of families in need of some extra holiday cheer this year.
The PBA, with the support of Miscedra and Associates and Adams Fairacre Farms, delivered the gift cards to school officials on Wednesday. The school representatives will distribute the cards to the families in need.
Jim Miscedra of Miscedra and Associates explained his commitment to the tradition, saying, “I have always supported the Town of Poughkeepsie PBA as well as the City of Poughkeepsie PBA. The men and women in those organizations take tremendous risks to keep us safe. It’s the least I can do. When the opportunity to help families during this incredibly challenging year presented itself, I signed on. Paying it forward is the right thing to do.”
