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Community Corner

Applebee's to Raise Money for Slain Officer's Family

Want to help a fallen officer's family? Here's an easy, and delicious, way to do so.

Stop by your favorite  on Monday, Dec. 5, to enjoy a great meal and contribute to a great cause.

Twenty Applebee’s restaurants in the greater Pittsburgh region have teamed up with the Western Pennsylvania Police Benevolent Foundation (WPPBF) and the Officer Derek Kotecki Benefit Committee to raise funds for the Officer Derek Kotecki Memorial Fund.

The fund benefits the family of Lower Burrell Police Officer Derek Kotecki, who was , when he and his K-9 partner, Odin, were pursuing murder suspect and fugitive Charlie Post.

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The 18-year veteran left behind a wife and two young sons, as well as many friends and colleagues. However, a valuable resource was able to swiftly come to their aid.

The WPPBF is a newly-formed nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of officers, and officer families, in need, regardless of employment status or union affiliation. It was legally formed in the summer of 2011, after the shooting of Clairton Police Officer James Kuzak spurred its creation.

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Immediately following Kotecki’s murder, the WPPBF jumped into action. Through its partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, volunteer officers collected more than $22,000 in donations during a Penguins home game at CONSOL Energy Center on Oct. 15.

It collected an additional $10,000 through other fundraising efforts, including two days of collections on Route 51.

“Most people want to help fallen officers and their families but don’t know how to do so,” said Bethel Police Officer and WPPBF Secretary Andrew Volchko. “We want to give them an easier way to do it.”

And it doesn’t get much easier, or more delicious, than what the WPPBF has cooked up this time.

Just print out the flyer on this page and give it to a server at a participating Applebee’s location between 11 a.m. and midnight on Dec. 5. Then sit back and enjoy your meal. Fifteen percent of the cost of your food order will be donated to the Officer Derek Kotecki Memorial Fund.

If you can’t make it out to an Applebee’s on Monday, but would still like to help, donations to the Officer Derek Kotecki Memorial Fund can be sent to S&T Bank, 4251 Old William Penn Highway, Murrysville, PA, 15668. Please make checks payable to the Officer Derek Kotecki Memorial Fund.

Participating Applebee’s locations are: , West Mifflin, Washington (Trinity Point), Robinson, Pittsburgh Mills, Peters Township, Chippewa, Clarion, Edgewood, Penn Center, North Hills (McKnight Road), Cranberry, Richland, Mt. Pleasant, Monaca, Butler, Johnstown, Altoona, State College and Uniontown.

* You must print out the flyer and present it to your server in order to have 15 percent of your food order donated to the fund. *

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