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By Christen M. Stroh

When the borough of Canonsburg lost police officer Scott Bashioum in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence call on November 10, the community came out in droves to offer support.

Blue Ribbon fund raiser

Many made signs and banners to demonstrate their love and appreciation of the police force as a whole, and some chose to display their support to the police community in other ways.

When Canonsburg resident Jocelyn Beresh tied a blue bow on her lamp post to show her support for the police, she had no idea it would turn into a fundraiser. She noted, “When my girlfriend came by, she said she also needed a bow, and I said to her, ‘Do you think we could sell these?’” Working with both ribbon she had and ribbon that was donated throughout the day, she worked with a group of volunteers to make blue bows, selling them at a price of $5 a bow and, as such, the Blue Ribbon Project was born.

The fundraising campaign took off quickly largely due to social media, and since school was cancelled on November 10 while police continued to search for the shooter, who remained at large during the early morning hours of that day, neighbors brought their kids to set up stands in the driveway to sell the bows. In all, between 50 and 60 people volunteered to either sell or make bows throughout the day.

The Blue Ribbon Project raised a total of $2,270. Funds collected from the blue bow sale were directly given to the Bashioum family: Scott’s widow, Ashley, and his four children.

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