DPS Superman
Beyond the Badge
Vol.3, No.1 January 2010
January 

National Mentoring Month
 
In This Issue
National Mentoring Month
Friends for Youth
Staff Volunteer Highlight
Local Crossing Guard
Upcoming Events
We're on Twitter!...
Archive Link
Working with the Community
CPR Anytime Training
2nd Annual Rides for Toys
Letters from the Community
Parent Project
Friends for Youth
 
Friends for Youth has been connecting youth-in-need with caring adult mentors since 1979. These friendships make a real difference in a young person's self-esteem, ability to communicate and decision-making skills. Volunteer mentors serve as positive role models and help their "junior friends" grow into responsible, productive community members.
 
Friends for Youth has made over 1,500 matches with an 88% success rate of creating positive, long-term friendships. But there is always a list of youth waiting for someone like you to become their mentor.

Volunteers are asked to commit to 3 hours per week for one year. Scheduling is flexible since the program is based on one-to-one mentoring. Mentors and their friends choose from activities on their own or various group activities coordinated by Friends for Youth each month.

Volunteers receive an orientation, training and information to help make their experience successful. They also have the support and coaching of a Mentoring Services Program Coordinator throughout their participation in the program.

Friends Youth 1-1
Photo by Darren Ferriera 
 
Youth range in age from 8 to 17 years old and live in San Mateo and Northern San Mateo Counties, from South San Francisco to Sunnyvale. They are referred to the program through teachers, counselors and other youth service personnel.
 
For more information about Friends for Youth, visit their website at www.friendsforyouth.org or to become a mentor e-mail [email protected] or phone 650-482-2867.

Staff Volunteer Highlight
 
DPS volunteer T Vorghin is originally from Vietnam. He grew up on the island of Oahu, Hawaii and moved to San Jose in the late 70's. He works as a Lab Technician for the Biological and Health Science Department at Foothill College and is an Instructional Aide for the Linking Youth 'N Community Services (LYNCS) Program at DeAnza College.
 
Sunnyvale City Logo Color
DPS volunteer T Vorghin
 
T says his unique beard is a great ice-breaker when working with students! When he's not working or volunteering, he enjoys fishing, hiking and camping.
 
Sunnyvale City Logo Color
T  in Cambodia during a December trip
 
T is assigned to the DPS Records Unit and also assists with special projects throughout the department.

Your Local Sunnyvale Crossing Guard
 

 
Crossing GuardI
 
Name: Chantel Tosh

Location:
Cumberland Elementary School (Quetta/ Danforth)
Last school year was at Columbia Middle School (Morse/Ferndale)
 
Years of Service: 1 Year

Safety Tip:

"Be aware of what the crossing guard is doing. By paying attention to the crossing guard, you will let the pedestrian and the driver know what he/she should be doing."
 

Sunnyvale DPS Upcoming Events

JANUARY - Happy 2010!

In the Schools - Basketball Shoot out Qualifiers

(7th & 8th Grades) 
 
Jan 27
Challenge Team Meeting
ChallengeTeam.insunnyvale.com 
 

FEBRUARY
 
Feb 2 
Groundhog Job Shadow Day
 
Feb 5
Basketball Shootout Finals
Columbia Middle School
(408) 730-7140
TDD (408)730-7501
 
Feb 12
Gateway Neighborhood Center Community Meeting
 
Feb 14
Valentine's Day
 
Feb 25
Parent Project begins
(408) 730-7145 to register
 (408)730-7501
Feb 25
Challenge Team Meeting
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twitter.com/BeyondtheBadge 

Check us out for the latest scoop!
 
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� 2010 City of Sunnyvale, CA

Chief JohnsonMessage from the Chief

The New Year brings with it a sense of renewal and a fresh start for many of us.  For Public Safety, this is especially true - on February 12, we begin a new "team year." Twenty Officers will move from Fire to Police, and 13 Officers will move from Police to Fire - Public Safety in its purest sense.  Additionally, more than 39 percent of our Police personnel will change to a different shift - from days to swings; from swings to graves. 

These changes allow us to refresh and renew - these simple changes bring a "fresh set of eyes to the work at hand," and they allow our officers to sharpen their skills in a different way - the work really does change, depending on time of day and days of the week. Even with the changes, our focus on team stays strong - we work together to identify neighborhood issues and crime trends; and we work together to resolve the problems we find.

As we make our "team year" changes, I can guarantee our service to you will be seamless; we are a fully integrated Public Safety Department - that means we are trained and equipped to handle any Police, Fire, or Emergency Medical Response - and each year we get a chance to prove our work to the citizens we serve. Thank you for supporting us in 2009, and here's to a great 2010 for all of us!

Chief Johnson
(408) 730-7161, TDD (408) 730-7501 or email [email protected]

Columbia Neighborhood Wellness Walks

Generations Community Wellness started the weekly Columbia Neighborhood Wellness Walks to get the community moving, active and engaged in physical activity. Generations, along with the collaborating partners, hope to raise awareness of healthy nutrition habits, increase consumption of healthy foods, increase levels of physical fitness and, most importantly, increase environmental changes that support healthy lifestyles, specifically creating a safe place for families to exercise regularly. 
 
 Welness Walk 1    Welness Walk 1
 
The walks have been a huge success in the community and are now run entirely by community leaders.

Join us at the Columbia Middle School track every Saturday for healthy fun for the entire family! Show up between 8:45 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. and enter the weekly drawing to win great prizes.
If you would like more information about the Columbia Neighborhood Wellness Walks, please contact Generations Community Wellness at (408)736-8326.
Working with the Community

CPR Anytime

On December 2, 2009, the DPS Training Unit partnered with the Sunnyvale Teen Advisory Council (TAC) and provided cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. The class was comprised of 15 student members and was hosted at the Sunnyvale Senior Center.
 
CPR 1
Each student received a CPR Anytime kit through funding from the Santa Clara County EMS Agency. During the class, students were taught basic CPR technique and were given information regarding automated external defibrillator (AED) units that are located throughout the Sunnyvale community and also at various public locations (e.g., airports and other public facilities).
 
CPR 1 The trained TAC members will assist DPS personnel this Spring with Senior Center CPR training classes. This partnership provides our Sunnyvale teens with leadership opportunities, builds career awareness for public safety and health care, and invests CPR skills in our youth.

2nd Annual Rides for Toys
 
On Sunday, December 6 the DPS Fire Division hosted the 2nd Annual Rides for Toys event in the parking lot of the Sunnyvale Toys R Us on El Camino Real. Each child who donated a new, unwrapped toy was given a ride on a Sunnyvale fire engine. The beneficiary of this year's event was Sunnyvale Community Services.
 
Crossing Guard
From 10 A.M. to 1 P.M., non-stop rides were provided to children and families who donated hundreds of toys. PSO Brian Wilkes loaned his 1929 American LaFrance fire engine, which was used as a collection point to store the donated toys. Due to the wonderful community response, the hose bed was filled twice to the rim!

The antique fire engine was a hit with many families who came to take pictures on it, and it was also used to deliver the toys to the Sunnyvale Community Services.
 
Upon their arrival at Sunnyvale Community Services, DPS personnel were met by Executive Director Nancy Tivol and numerous volunteers, who unloaded the toys. Executive Director Tivol stated that this year the demand for toys was extremely high and donations were low, but the Rides for Toys event helped fill the need.
 
This event would not have been the success it was without the help of A-Team Fire personnel from Stations 1, 2, 3, and 4, the DPS Crime Prevention Unit, Sunnyvale Explorer Post 417 and Volunteers in Public Safety (VIPS). Everyone worked very hard to make this Christmas a happier one for the families in need in the Sunnyvale community.
Letters from the Community
 
Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our Public Safety Officers, the Department of Public Safety receives many letters of thanks from the community - here is one such example: 

Dear Police Officers,
 
    I wish to thank a particular police officer that helped me last night after I called 911. Not knowing his name, I address all of you. I know my husband would thank you in his behalf as well.

     Last night I arrived home, without my husband, after a Thanksgiving flight home. Shortly after 9:00 P.M., I was in the process of calling my sister to let her know that I had gotten home safe and sound. There are sounds in a in a quiet house that I normally recognize, but suddenly there was a banging, scurrying, twisting-of-the-doorknob type of sound at my front door. There was no knock, but there was a sound of entry. I immediately left the open window area of the kitchen to the back of the house, and called 911 for the first time in my 63 years. My heart was beating so fast I could barely speak to the operator.


     I wish I could thank her as well. She stayed on the phone while I waited for the arrival of a police officer. She was calm, helpful, and just what I needed right then.


     When the officer arrived, minutes later, I opened the door, and between the house door and the screen door was a Federal Express box. I couldn't imagine a delivery at 9:00 until I saw a newspaper next to it and realized it must have been a neighbor. I don't know my neighbors, except to wave on occasion, so the thought of a neighbor never originally crossed my mind.


     It may be I felt less in control without my husband caring for me. It may be that I felt scared without my dog at hand. (He was still in the kennel as it was too late to pick him up). I know I feel terribly vulnerable and somewhat helpless, as I am recovering from a broken shoulder.


     It's a long story, but I wanted to you to know I feel safe, and police officers in Sunnyvale should be respected for their emergency response and kindness. I could say I am embarrassed that I did not have a real emergency, but actually I am not. I am glad I didn't have an emergency, and I am glad that the Sunnyvale Police Department is so good! The police officer that helped me never made me feel silly or embarrassed: he made me feel respected and safe.


     My husband and I raised our children in Atherton for 18 years. There we had a house and yard security system. Atherton Police officers are known to arrive within minutes whenever needed. Impressive. Now, I have a new story about the Sunnyvale Police Department. Impressive. Thank you so very much.


-from a Sunnyvale Resident


DPS Announces Spring 2010 Parent Project Session  

The Parent Project Spring session runs February 25 through May 20, 2010 (except April 15) at the Sunnyvale Senior Center. Program fee is $120 that includes workbook and dinner each night. The course is facilitated by Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers trained and certified by the National Parent Project Program www.parentproject.com

Crossing Guard Fall session youth planned and prepared a meal for their parents to celebrate the final evening of their 4-week culinary program. The menu included chile rellenos, pasta salad, baked ziti and hot chocolate.
 
Crossing Guard
The Art Institute Sunnyvale will again partner with DPS to provide graphic design and culinary components for the middle school and high school aged children of the Parent Project participants during the final 8 weeks of the program. The youth component provides an opportunity for the kids to learn new skills, experience success and it gives them a new topic of conversation with their parents.
 


For more information or to register, please contact Officer Jim Davis at 408-730-7145 or [email protected]