Special Haverhill Police badges.
Haverhill police officers wear pink badges and place magnetic ribbons on cruisers as part of the month-long Pink Ribbon campaign for breast cancer awareness.
Efforts are focused on raising money, and Detective Joseph Benedetti, whose wife Michelle Benedetti passed away in 2019, says there is still time to help. Putting cruisers into use for charity was an idea floated by Chief Robert P. Pistone several years ago. Benedetti, a recent guest on WHAV’s morning program, told the story.
“He came up with the idea of sticking pink magnetic ribbons on the cruisers. So he approached me because he knew my past and asked if we were accepting donations for these ribbons, if it would be all right if the proceeds went to MishStrong, an organization that I and my wife’s family founded in relation to my wife who died of breast cancer in 2019.”
Benedetti shared the story of Michelle’s battle with cancer and how the MishStrong organization came to be.
“So in 2019 my wife, Michelle Benedetti, died of metastatic breast cancer, and I, Michelle’s family and some of her closest friends decided that we would like to start an organization in her name where we can help children, donate money to children. in emergency. Michelle worked for the Department of Children and Families, DCF in Haverhill, and she dedicated her life to helping children. We just want to continue the legacy in her name,” he explained.
Benedetti said she was also an avid runner which is why MishStrong is sponsoring a 5k Road race. The most recent race was on October 17, raising money to support scholarships. Last year, four Haverhill High School students each received $750 awards. The students were either involved in athletics, social work, or had been affected by cancer in some way.
Benedetti says there is still time to support the efforts of Haverhill Police.
“You can come to the police station and make a donation. We’ll give you a pink magnetic ribbon and you can personalize it and then we’ll take the ribbon and put it on the cruiser. So we try to spice up as many cruisers as we can. You can also make a donation on MishStrong.org where you can buy a ribbon and email us how you want to personalize it and then we’ll personalize it and put it on a cruiser for you,” he said.
Donations can be made at the Records counter in the lobby of the Police Station, 40 Bailey Boulevard. If you wish, you can also place a personal message on the ribbon.
To learn more about Michelle Benedetti’s legacy, visit MishStrong.org.
In addition to WHAV.net, WHAV’s “Merrimack Valley Newsmakers” podcasts are available through Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, and Alexa.
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