Daniels Fund, Craig Hospital and the Denver Police Department team up to honor and support police officers
Bill Daniels Neighborhood Hero Award to honor law enforcement officers from across the U.S. who place their lives on the line in service to others. Award includes a $100,000 grant to provide for the needs of families of injured officers receiving care at Craig Hospital
Englewood, CO – Oct. 6, 2009 -- Law enforcement officers from across the U.S. were honored as “Bill Daniels Neighborhood Heroes” during a 1:30 p.m. ceremony on Oct. 3 at the Westin Tabor Center in Denver. The award included the announcement of a $100,000 grant to provide for the needs of families of injured officers receiving care at Craig Hospital.
More than 50 police chiefs from major U.S. cities assembled for the 116th Annual Conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police were on hand for the presentation that honored officers who have been severely injured in the line of duty. Denver Police Chief Gerald Whitman; Linda Childears, president and CEO of the Daniels Fund; and Dick Hall, chairman of the board of Craig Hospital; took part in the presentation.
The ceremony included a brief video highlighting two officers and their families currently receiving care at Craig: Officer Chris Dewey from Mahnomen, Minnesota who sustained a traumatic brain injury from a gunshot wound on Feb. 18, 2009, and Officer Densey Cole II from Chicago who was paralyzed in a traffic accident while on duty on May 28, 2009.
Officer Cole addressed the gathering; Officer Dewey’s wife, Emily also addressed the gathering on behalf of her husband, whose injuries precluded him from attending.
Dick Hall, Craig Hospital’s chairman, received the grant award from the Daniels Fund. More than 35 officers from 15 different states have been patients at Craig Hospital over the past 25 years. Officers come from states including Colorado, New York, Illinois, Missouri, California, Texas, Iowa, and Wyoming.
The Denver Police Department has consistently offered support to officers and their families from other cities receiving treatment at Craig Hospital. The $100,000 Daniels Fund grant will support needs for immediate family members not covered by the afflicted officers’ workers compensation benefits, and could include family housing, transportation, meals, day care, and other necessary incidentals. The Daniels Fund will establish a community Advisory Board to review on going requests for grant funding.
The award is named for Bill Daniels, a pioneer in cable television who was an aircraft carrier fighter pilot in World War II. His legacy at the Daniels Fund provides college scholarships for students in financial need and grants to nonprofit organizations in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
Information on the 116th Annual Conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police is available at www.theiacpconference.org
*************************************************************************************
Craig Hospital is a non-profit, national rehabilitation hospital and research center that specializes exclusively in treatment and research of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Last year Craig treated patients from 47 states and was ranked in the Top Ten Rehab Hospitals by US News and World Report for the 20th consecutive year.
*************************************************************************************
Partnering with the Denver Police and other organizations, the Daniels Fund presents “Bill Daniels Neighborhood Hero Awards” to officers and citizens who go “above and beyond the call to duty” when faced with a life-threatening situation. Bill Daniels established the Daniels Fund to provide grants and scholarships in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. When he died in the year 2000 his estate transferred to the Daniels Fund, making it one of the largest foundations in the Rocky Mountain West. For more information, please visit www.danielsfund.org
*************************************************************************************
Media Contacts:
Kenny Hosack
Public Relations
Craig Hospital
303-789-8490
303-921-3371 (cell)
khosack@craighospital.org
Mary Bonner
Communications Manager
Craig Hospital Foundation
303-789-8019
303-549-4213 (cell)
mbonner@craighospital.org
Peter Droege
VP of Communications
Daniels Fund
303-519-9533
pdroege@danielsfund.org
Sonny Jackson
PIO
Denver Police Department
720-913-6534
Sonny.jackson@denvergov.org
3425 S. Clarkson St. Englewood, CO 80113 303-789-8000 www.craighospital.org |
