LYNNFIELD — The Police Department, in partnership with the Fire Department and Northeast Arc, is holding its second annual Coffee with a Cop event at MarketStreet Lynnfield Saturday.
The event serves as a fundraiser for families served by the Northeast Arc Autism Support Center. An added benefit is it also gives members of the public an opportunity to have a complementary cup of coffee and learn more about the services the Arc and the Police Department can provide to local families.
Special “Autism Awareness Program” police patches will be sold for $10 each and can also be purchased anytime at department headquarters. T-shirts will also be offered, and all proceeds will be donated to the Northeast Arc Autism Support Center. Representatives from the Support Center will be on site to help answer questions about the services the center provides.
Once again, Panera Bread will be providing food and beverages for all attendees.
New this year is a presentation by SafetyNet Tracking, a company that makes tracking bracelets.
“They originally started with Alzheimer’s patients and now they are becoming very popular for children with autism,” said event co-coordinator Susan Parziale, adding her daughter has been wearing a bracelet since she was 5 years old.
“Susan and Dan (MacIntye, from the Lynnfield Housing Authority) have been instrumental in making this campaign happen and we are all looking forward to it,” Police Capt. Christopher DeCarlo said. “Their hard work is making this campaign a success.”
The event will be held outside, near Panera, on Saturday, April 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Unicare is sponsoring the event.
DeCarlo said Unicare has been instrumental in “helping to put the word out” and donated a banner that has been hung on Summer Street near the Fire Department headquarters to help promote the event. He said the popular Autism Awareness parade has been confirmed to take place on Saturday, April 30 starting at 11 a.m. (Parade route details are to be determined).
For questions about Coffee with a Cop or the parade, reach out to DeCarlo at [email protected].
