Orchard Park, NY - The Buffalo Bills and the City of Rochester Police Department (RPD) announced they will host area youth of the Do The Right Thing awards program at the Bills Verizon Wireless Training Camp night practice on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at St. John Fisher College in Rochester.
Each month the RPD honors five children from the Rochester community who have distinguished themselves by their exemplary behavior. The program seeks to proactively recognize these children and establish them as positive role models among their peers.
The RPD's Do The Right Thing program was modeled after a similar program created by the Miami Police Department and was founded in Rochester in 1995. Today, both Mayor Robert J. Duffy and Chief of Police, David T. Moore are committed to the program and the positive impacts it continues to have on the youth of Rochester.
The program is also a proactive solution to combating the high school dropout rate, incidence of drug abuse and related crime among economically disadvantaged youth from the City of Rochester. In addition, surveys of the award winners have demonstrated that they feel an increased overall sense of accomplishment, pride and self worth after receiving the Do The Right Thing award.
"The RPD's Do The Right Thing awards program is a great way to recognize and reward these positive young role models," stated Gretchen Geitter, Bills vice president of community relations. "The Bills are proud to partner with the RPD to host the award winners for a fun night at Training Camp."
Adults in the community nominate children in grades K-12 from Monroe County who they feel have positively influenced the lives of others through their selfless actions. Each month the City of Rochester Police Department honors five students and holds an awards ceremony bi-monthly from September through June each year. Winners receive certificates along with a host of great prizes including groceries from Tops Friendly Markets, book bags filled with supplies, toys, t-shirts and much more. Additionally, each child in the recipient's class is able to choose a book from Scholastics and it is billed to the "Do The Right Thing" program.
