Apopka group makes 'beauty from ashes' through kindness with 9/11 Beautification Project for Apopka Police

From The Apopka Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association

The Apopka Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association (ACPAAA) completed the next step of their 9/11 Beautification Project at the Apopka Police Department (APD) last week, much to the APD's appreciation.

The idea for the 9/11 Beautification Project started last month, on September 11th, when ACPAAA wanted to do something extra special for APD. Most of ACPAAA's support efforts with the APD are typically quite engaging and hands-on, such as the finger printing event, Shop-With-A-Cop, Fall Festivals, Cops & Bobbers, and such, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, they have not been able to volunteer in the usual way. As a result, members decided to something different, landing on the great idea to beautify the officers' work entrance as well as the medians in the parking lot. And that's just what they did, starting on September 11 and continuing through last Thursday, October 15.

Three motivated ACPAAA members weeded, trimmed hedges and picked up trash on the morning of 9/11, and then seven additional community-serving members continued the project last week. Early on the morning of October 15, with their gloves, rakes, and shovels, the small but mighty team of ACPAAA members weeded APD's flower beds, trimmed more shrubs, and spread 100 bags of mulch.

ACPAAA and the APD would like to thank Carters ACE Hardware and Lumber of Apopka for furnishing 60 of those bags of mulch as well as paint, and expressed more appreciation for Linear Patch on Plymouth Sorrento road for donating the beautiful plants. Gratitude goes out to the many additional local businesses in the Apopka community who have also been extremely supportive to the ACPAA, as well as to all the other non-profit organizations in the community.

Charlotte White, President of the ACPAAA, shared how heartwarming it was to have the APD officers and staff thank them for all the hard work. From “Thank you for making our work environment inviting!” to “This looks so nice, it makes our building so pretty!”, the sentiment expressed meant a lot to the beautification team, knowing they helped brighten up the work space of police officers that brighten our lives everyday with their service in our community. It's no surprise that ACPAAA has committed to continuing to help keep the APD beautiful going forward as well.

APD's Facebook page thanked ACPAA one more time, writing "... and for the ACPAAA members who dedicated their time to show how committed they are to our department and our city. Thank you ALL!".