NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Making An Impact, Inc.

September 20, 2022

Bradenton Police and Fire Departments Now Using Resource Guide To Help Others

Making An Impact’s Resource Guide Now One of the Most Used Reference Tools by Local Law Enforcement and Other First Responders

[LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL]. Making An Impact’s (MAI) Community Connections Resource Guide was recently adopted for use by Bradenton Police and Fire Departments to assist residents in need.

Bradenton Police Chief Melanie Bevan and Assistant Police Chief Joe Wiesman were on hand to accept copies of MAI’s printed resource guides for their officer’s use and guide QR code wallet cards for distributing ad hoc to those in need.

Fire Chief Tim Greer and Business Operations Manager Rebecca Desch learned about the Guide in

August while watching the Bradenton City Council meeting on closed circuit TV, when Making An Impact’s board chair, Victoria Kasdan, presented it as a local resource during the meeting’s public comments section. Shortly afterward, they contacted the nonprofit to request copies of the printed guide and other materials for their team.

“We are pleased to have such great interest and use of our resource guide by local law enforcement agencies and other first responder groups, “said MAI co-founder and Board Chair Victoria Kasdan.

“Sheriff Rick Wells said it best when he recently stated, “Every day, our deputies come in contact with people who have needs beyond what we as a law enforcement agency are equipped to handle. It’s great to have this ready reference guide with a list of resource programs and organizations that can provide additional services. It’s our hope that people in our community will find the help they need, and we’ll continue to do what we can to point them in the right direction” commented Kasdan.

In addition to Bradenton Police and Fire Departments, other law enforcement and first responder agencies using Making An Impact’s Community Resource Guide include Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Manatee County EMS- Paramedicine Division, North Port Police Department; Venice Police Department, Sarasota Police Department, Longboat Key Police Department, and Longboat Key Fire and EMS Department.

About Making An Impact

Making An Impact, Inc. is a local 501 (c)(3) nonprofit empowering residents in need with information on local services that can help. Our comprehensive Community Connections Resource Guide, now available in print and online, lists over 250 agencies providing essential need services in Sarasota and Manatee counties. With nearly 4000 printed copies in circulation and thousands of views online, our resource guide has quickly become one of the area’s most trusted and widely used references for where to go to get help. Guide users and advocates include most of the areas social service nonprofits, law enforcement agencies, and faith-based institutions.

The organization was founded in April 2020 to address disparities that inhibit disadvantaged residents from finding and accessing essential resources in their community. For more information and to view the Making An Impact Community Connections Resource Guide online, visit www.Making–An–Impact.org  

Media Contact:

Victoria Kasdan, RN, M.P.H.

Board Chair

E: administrator@Making-An-Impact.org                   W: www.Making–An–Impact.org  

O: 941.251.5846                                                                   C: 612.220.4438