Greetings,
It is with a sad heart that we write to you today. On November 29th, 2009, four of our Lakewood Police Officers were gunned down while sitting in a coffee shop writing their reports. The shockwaves of this senseless, despicable crime have shaken all of us in this community. We will never be the same.
The enormous outpouring of support from our community, as well as good people from around the world, has been nothing short of inspiring. I can tell you that the overwhelming show of support does help us through the grieving and healing process. It will never replace Mark, Tina, Ronnie, or Greg, but it gives us hope and strength.
The Lakewood Police Independent Guild Charitable Fund was established in 2008 by Lakewood Police Officers and members of the Lakewood community who wanted to reach out and help victims of crime and those less fortunate in our community. We are an independent corporation, a 501 (c) 3 charity, and are registered as a charity with the WA Secretary of State’s office. We raise money to give back to our community. Just four days before this tragic event, the LPIG Charitable Fund organized the donation and delivery of over 250 Thanksgiving meals to people in our community. Sadly, we have decided to cancel our annual Santa at the Station this year, because we are just too grief stricken and consumed at this point to get it organized in time. However, we will be back next year, better than ever.
At this time we have turned our efforts to raising funds to establish a trust fund to support the nine children who have lost a parent in this tragic event. Our goal is to build a trust that will enable all of these children to attend college and build the life their lost parent would have wanted for them. We can never replace their mom or dad, but we can help give them hope for a bright future.
Monetary donations may be made at directly at our website, WWW.LPIG.US, or mailed to our address:
Lakewood Police Independent Guild
P.O. Box 99579
Lakewood, WA 98499
Additionally, contributions may be made at any Columbia Bank branch to the “Lakewood Police Independent Guild Benevolent Fund” or any Bank of America branch to the “Lakewood Fallen Officers’ Fund.” Our Federal Tax Identification Number is: 26-3808362
John Unfred
Secretary/Treasurer
LPIG Charitable Fund
