The Louisville Metro Police Foundation has launched a public awareness campaign entitled “Could you do it?” to thank the officers and staff of the Louisville Metro Police Department and increase community support for these brave public servants. This first-ever public awareness campaign by the Police Foundation spotlights the challenging and often dangerous job of being an LMPD officer, and will run through much of 2011.
“The essential mission of the Police Foundation is to support the men and women of LMPD,” said G.J. Hart, President and CEO of Texas Roadhouse, Inc., and chairman of the Police Foundation’s board of directors. “We’ve decided that a key way to do that is to thank them publicly.” “It’s so easy to forget how tough the job of being a Louisville police officer is every day, and how often they are called into difficult circumstances,” Hart continued. “We hope the Could you do it? campaign will help Louisvillians better understand how important LMPD and its officers and staff are to our community.”
Television, radio and outdoor advertising highlighting the complex situations that Louisville police face on a daily basis make up the majority of the campaign. A video showcasing the heroism of several LMPD Medal of Honor awardees has also been created and can be viewed (see link at left). Media companies serving the Louisville market are donating advertising airtime and space to the Police Foundation for the campaign.
The Police Foundation was founded in 2005 to support LMPD and its 1,500 officers and staff by providing much-needed financial resources beyond what the Police Department’s Louisville Metro Government budget can fund. Some of LMPF’s local sponsors include: Norton Healthcare, Texas Roadhouse, Bee Line Courier Service, PriceWeber, Thorntons, Yum! Brands, Nicklies Development, Wendy’s, Brown-Forman, Sysco, Creative Alliance, and PNC, Republic, and UBS banks.
Dennis P. Heishman, Region CEO of Old National Bank and another founding member of the Police Foundation, observed, “There may be no other organization in Louisville that residents and businesses so fundamentally rely upon more than the LMPD. Our police officers deserve our gratitude and our support. The Police Foundation is making an important, tangible difference for this great community of ours.”
The Police Foundation focuses its spending on four categories:
- Crime Fighting
- Excellence in Policing
- Health and Well-Being of LMPD Officers
- Community Partnerships
Examples of Police Foundation spending during our first four years of operation include:
- Launched a multi-media public awareness campaign entitled, “Could you do it?” The campaign’s goal is to increase public support for the men and women of LMPD who work every day to keep our families, businesses and community safe. Read more
- Formed a nationally unique partnership with LMPD and the United States Secret Service - "Operation Prevent Business Theft" - to give Louisville businesses the best and most current information available about theft prevention, financial crimes and other criminal activity targeting businesses. One result of the partnership was the apprehension and prosecution of a major counterfeiting operation that targeted several dozen Louisville businesses.
- Partnered with LMPD and Jefferson County Public Schools to create the 574-LMPD anonymous tip line, which has quickly become one of the most successful of such programs in the country.
- Responding to an alarmingly high divorce rate among LMPD officers, LMPF offers marriage enrichment seminars that give relationship advice and information in an open and comforting environment to officers and their spouses or partners.
- LMPF hosts and underwrites the annual Louisville Metro Police Department Awards Banquet, which honors LMPD officers and staff for exceptional and heroic service to our community.
- LMPF is the primary underwriter of the LMPD Explorer Academy, a statewide program that partners with the Boy Scouts of America to develop young men and women for careers in law enforcement.
- Helped LMPD start a leadership development program to connect its commanding officers with mentors who are Louisville-area leaders.
- Underwrote the cost of annual training for LMPD D.A.R.E. officers that improved their ability to teach elementary and high school students about the importance of abstaining from drugs and alcohol.
Learn more: Louisville Metro Police Foundation web site
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