Harrison's Kaley Bastine spreading police fundraising efforts to New Kensington
A Harrison girl is branching out in her efforts to support police — even crossing a river.
Kaley Bastine, 7, will be selling cupcakes from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 28 at Bird Dog’s Sports Bar & Grill in Harrison to raise money for New Kensington police Officer Joe Martino and his police dog, Deuce.
“Kaley has a love for K9’s so, when she saw that Deuce was from the Shaw foundation, she just had to help them out,” Kaley’s mother, Jamie Bastine, said on her Facebook page.
The fundraiser will include a 50/50 and a basket raffle. Live bands will perform.
New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo swore in Deuce at the Aug. 5 city council meeting. He called what Kaley is doing “phenomenal.”
“What a wonderful young lady,” he said. “It’s so great. She’s so wonderful and caring. She’s really setting such a great example for everyone, kids and adults, about how we should be, how we should act and what our priorities should be. She’s setting an example we should all follow.”
Kaley is no stranger to supporting police in her hometown.
In July 2018, she sold lemonade from a stand in front of her family’s house and gave the $106 she raised to Harrison police.
She followed that up with a cookie stand in August, again benefiting Harrison police. That raised just over $850.
In June, the Walmart Foundation gave Kaley a check for $7,500 to benefit Harrison police.
Brian C. Rittmeyer, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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