Employees Help Make Christmas Brighter
Knowing how difficult it can be to spend time in the hospital over Christmas, a team of Peel Police employees came together to brighten up the holiday for an 8-year-old battling leukemia.
Lauren Donnelly, a civilian employee working in our Communications unit, faced one of the most challenging battles in her life at the young age of 15, when she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, one of the most common form of pediatric cancer and one of the lengthiest protocols with treatments ranging from 7 days a week for 30-40 months.
“Both of my parents were employees with Peel Regional Police so when I was diagnosed, the employees and the organization rallied behind our family and always did what they could to make things a little better for us” said Lauren. “When I recovered, I started this initiative as a way to give back to others that were going through a similar diagnosis. Well what started as something small, quickly turned into something big as my colleagues all wanted to participate to help bring a smile to the faces of a family in a difficult situation.”
Recently, 8-year-old Benjamin, who is currently undergoing treatment for leukemia, stopped by 22 Division in Brampton for a visit with Lauren and her colleagues. The day included visits to our Communications centre, where Benjamin and his sister Cristina had the opportunity to dispatch an officer, tour a division, try on some police equipment and of course the most important part, OPEN PRESENTS!
“The gifts that both Benjamin and Cristina got were great, but the experience that Lauren and the rest of the Peel Police family gave them was beyond amazing. You made our holidays more meaningful and made us more grateful for all the things that we have in our lives” said Benjamin’ mom Maribeth. “Thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts!”
We’re proud of employees like Lauren. She is a clear example of how the community is at the heart of everything we do, why we work hard to support those in our community and why we’ve raised over $14 million since 2006.
To read more about the different charities and initaitives we suport, visit PeelPolice.ca.
