Northern Allegheny Rotary Club presents comfort bags to McCandless police

McCandless police have a new tool to help people in crisis thanks to the Northern Allegheny Rotary Club.

The 21-member service club presented 20 comfort bags to McCandless police Chief Ryan Hawk and Lt. Eric Egli on July 29 at Walnut Grill in Pine, where the club meets every Tuesday for lunch.

Packed with hygiene and comfort items, the bags are intended to help women and children in domestic violence situations who have to leave their homes quickly, leaving personal items and necessities behind, said Cindy Skelley of Shaler, a past president of the club and chair of the project.

“While we know this bag cannot meet every need, it was packed with compassion and the firm belief that you deserve kindness, respect and a sense of care from your community,” a letter signed by Skelley and included in each bag says.

The duffel bags include a blanket, a bath towel and two washcloths, a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, a toothbrush and toothpaste, snacks, coloring books and crayons, two pairs of socks for women and toddlers, a first aid kit, two bottles of water and a $30 gift certificate to Treasure House Fashions.

Treasure House, a nonprofit women’s resale shop in Ross, currently is closed for renovations and expects to reopen in early September.

The 20 bags will be enough to put one in every McCandless police vehicle, Hawk said.

When the club reached out about its project, Hawk said it was something he wanted to be involved in.

“The community support is phenomenal here,” he said.

Hawk said his officers at one time had bags with stuffed animals to comfort children, but they have been depleted.

“This is more practical, in my opinion,” he said of the new comfort bags.

Assembling the comfort bags was a project suggested by the Northern Allegheny Rotary Club’s district governor, Skelley said.

Other Rotary clubs in the area, such as Bridgeville-South Fayette, have taken on the same project.

The Northern Allegheny club reached out to local businesses for donations of items to fill their bags or gift cards to buy them. Club members also bought items themselves, Skelley said.

When McCandless police run out of the bags, the Rotary club will find more, current President Ward Garner said.

“Our goal is to build a lot of good will, not only with the police but to help the police build good will,” he said.