(From a press release.)
The new Lower Merion Township Police Superintendent Andrew J. Block, recently met with Race for Peace Committee Founder Andrew P. Howell ll and Race for Peace Committee Activist and Advocate Alim Howell.
“We want to make sure everyone, especially the Ardmore and Bryn Mawr community residents, understands we are here to promote positivity with our law enforcement officers,” Andrew P. Howell ll said. “We host events throughout all the counties and we want to invite all to attend our events. Sometimes there is a bad taste from the past with police officers but our organization is here to build positive relationships with police officers.”
The department’s mission statement says its purpose is to improve the quality of life by providing the highest level of professional police service through a partnership with the community. They “are committed to creating a safe, crime-free environment by enforcing the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States of America Constitution. We will accomplish this by practicing our core values of integrity, professionalism and respect. We commit ourselves to the highest moral and ethical standards. We maintain the public trust through the performance of our duty without favor or prejudice. We conduct ourselves in our professional and personal lives in a manner beyond reproach.”
They also are committed to excellence in serving the community.
“We maintain a well-trained, disciplined and innovative workforce dedicated to continuous improvement. We commit ourselves to unite the public and the police by treating each other in an unbiased, dignified and compassionate manner. We value the diversity of our community by providing timely, impartial and courteous service to all,” the police stated.
“We want to make sure that everyone in the community is treated fairly. It is all about the community residents who we are here to protect from any wrongdoing,” Block said. “I have resided in Lower Merion Township for many years. All I want for the township and the residents we protect is to have as little crime as possible”.
Lower Merion Police Department Officer Daren Swain added, “This meeting was good because of the new position our Superintendent Andrew Block holds. It was basically a refresher of what is upcoming through Race for Peace Committee. We pinpointed that the Vernon V. Young Memorial Park/Ardmore Avenue Community Center “AACC” could be in collaboration with the Race for Peace Committee and also Next Level Sports Inc. based out of Ardmore Montgomery County.”
Ardmore Avenue Community Center, nicknamed “The Shack,” Program Coordinator is Crystal L. Galloway.
“With the sad loss of our Executive Director Linda M. Jackson through cancer disease, things will never be the same. But the Race for Peace Committee organization is helping with their efforts by having basketball games at the Lower Merion High School Kobe Bryant Gymnasium and the Downs Gym at the Lower Merion Administration Building,” Galloway said.
Quahsim Gredic, “Coach Q,” the Ardmore Avenue Community Center’s new program coordinator, said, “Crime and gun violence has to slow down. People should be more focused, aware, and concerned about what they are doing positively.”
The Ardmore Avenue Community Center‘s mission is to provide a wide range of educational, recreational, cultural, and social resources for residents, particularly children and youth, in South Ardmore and its neighboring communities. “Teaching the Youth of Today Tools for Tomorrow” is the motto of the AACC.
“The center’s programming gives youth the tools and confidence needed to become strong, goal-oriented adults who will have a positive impact on the community and the future. We take seriously our charge to have a positive impact on the development of our youth, offering a safe haven with programs where they can learn new skills, develop important competencies and establish healthy, supportive relationships with peers and adults. Relationship building is very important in the lives of young people,” said Galloway.
Alim Howell added that he is originally from Ardmore, a town straddling Montgomery and Delaware County. Howell mentioned that on Monday, May 27th, Memorial Day, there was a shooting at the Ardmore American Legion Post Leon Spencer Reid, Post 547, American Legion. On Friday, May 31st, a vigil at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church Ardmore was held in response.
“It was positive for the whole community coming together to build the safety, security and the gun violence should not be happening at all,” he said.
