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KPD Announces Faith & Blue Weekend 2023 Events and Initiatives

The Knoxville Police Department has announced the events and initiatives in store for Faith & Blue Weekend 2023. This year’s Faith & Blue Weekend is set for October 6-9.

For Faith & Blue Weekend 2023, each of the KPD’s three Field Operations districts are hosting events or initiatives. Additionally, the Investigations Bureau, Management Services Bureau and Professional Standards Bureau are taking part Faith & Blue events. Each of those events are focused on giving back, forging new community partnerships and strengthening existing ones.

The Field Operations West District is collecting essential, basic hygiene items, which will be donated to the Western Heights Baptist Center to support vulnerable, needy residents in the Western Heights area.

Led by one of the KPD’s volunteer Chaplains, the Field Operations Central District will host a blessing of the department’s K-9s at Immaculate Conception Church on Friday, October 6. In conjunction with that, the Central District is also collecting essential items to support the animals in the care of the Young-Williams Animal Center.

The Field Operations East District will host an ice cream social at the Christenberry Community Center on Oglewood Avenue. The event, which was jointly organized by the KPD and the Alliance for Community Transformation, will run from 6-8 p.m.

The Management Services and Professional Standards Bureaus are partnering to collect items to support the Isaiah 117 House, which temporarily houses children who are removed from their homes due to safety concerns. Specifically – the Bureaus are collecting clothing items for teenage children. Items collected will be donated to Isaiah 117 House at their new location on Mill Road on Monday, October 9.

Finally, the Investigations Bureau is partnering with Foster Chapel Baptist Church to support the Wesley House Community Center, which serves the Mechanicsville, Lonsdale and Beaumont communities. Food items will be collected for the Wesley House food pantry, which will culminate with an event at the Wesley House.

“Faith & Blue Weekend is an amazing opportunity for the members of our department to not only connect with Knoxville residents, but to help several organizations that are doing important work in the community,” Chief of Police Paul Noel said. “We are looking forward to taking part in Faith & Blue Weekend and to have the chance to make meaningful contributions to those organizations.”

About Faith & Blue

Faith & Blue was launched to facilitate safer, stronger, more just and unified communities by directly enabling local partnerships among law enforcement professionals, residents, businesses and community groups through the connections of local faith-based organizations.

The initiative aims to re-calibrate police-community relations through solutions-focused, in-person, socially distanced and/or virtual activities that are organized jointly by faith-based or other community groups and law enforcement agencies.

Visit www.faithandblue.org for more information.

Posted by serland On 19 September, 2023 at 1:25 PM