Rachel Burningham knows her future policing career will come with a variety of experiences involving different segments of the community.
She also knows her main reason for getting into the field is to help the community, and that’s what she was doing Wednesday at the Lighthouse Soup Kitchen and Shelter.
For the second year, police foundations and police studies students from Georgian College’s Orillia campus were at the Peter Street facility to prepare and serve meals to visitors.
“I wanted to help give back to the community,” Burningham said of her reason for volunteering.
Police find themselves interacting with people from many walks of life, so they “have to be able to communicate with everyone,” Burningham said.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what their situation is; you need to be able to handle it accordingly.”
Darren Trafford is seeking the same type of experience. The police studies student volunteered at the Lighthouse last year, too.
“I’ve always been actively involved in helping the homeless,” he said. “It’s important to have that experience and exposure to this community. If you don’t, they’re going to see right through you.”
Getting to know people in a casual setting builds a level of trust, he added.
“This is an asset in being proactive,” Trafford said. “We don’t want to be disconnected from this portion of the community. You need to be comfortable with all areas of the community.”
The students were joined by Orillia OPP constables Mike Kitchen and G. Geldenhuys, who helped prepare and serve the meal.
The dinner, which included pork tenderloin, potatoes and veggies, was donated by Back to Function.
