$50K Donated To Fairfield Police Union Scholarship Fund

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fundraisers and future scholarship recipients have a lot to celebrate, as the Fairfield Police Union Scholarship Fund recently received a substantial grant from The Perkin Fund.

Earlier this year, a grant of $50,000 was given to the local fund, which aims to help the children of Fairfield police personnel with college tuition in the form of grants.

Since its inception in 2014, the fund has provided more than $250,000 with more than 100 scholarships.

“We run numerous events each year to raise money,” explained fund president Capt. Keith Broderick, including the Sunset 5K, the Patterson Golf Outing, Dunk-A-Cop, and Giving Day.

“This donation is especially important and appreciated this year as many of our fundraising events have been postponed or canceled due to COVID-19,” he said.

The Perkin Fund, which is based out of South Hamilton, Massachusetts, has significant ties to town, with two brothers from Southport helping to oversee their family’s legacy.

“The Perkin Fund was founded by our grandfather, Richard Perkin … He hailed from New Canaan,” said Thorne Perkin, who lives with his family in New York City part-time, as well as in Southport.

“We’re delighted to support the Fairfield Police Department and thank all of the officers for their hard work, dedication and commitment to public service,” he said.

Meanwhile, his brother, Richard Perkin, lives in town full-time with his family, also in Southport.

“We’re lucky to have such a dedicated group at the Fairfield Police Department, and greatly appreciate all their services,” he said.

The police scholarship fund was originally founded by two longtime Fairfield residents — Joan and Dennis Poster.

“We started in both Westport and Fairfield as a token of appreciation for the police department,” said Joan Poster, a veterinarian who has operated Poster Veterinary Associates in Westport for decades.

Dennis Poster, who said his wife was the real force behind getting the fund started, noted that while Westport’s program was easy to get moving in 2010, Fairfield’s was a little harder to get off the ground.

“It began about four or five years later, after a lot of phone calls back and forth,” he said.

At the same time, he said, Fairfield support has been a little more aggressive in terms of getting money raised for the scholarship fund.

“My wife has been on a crusade for the last 15 years,” he said, in terms of showing support for those in law enforcement.

Joan Poster, meanwhile, expressed appreciation for all the people who continue to help with the cause, regardless of how much they’re able to contribute.

“I think it’s more of a feeling that this is what the community was doing for you,” she said. “It’s a token of appreciation.”