By Jacob Tierney
Tribune-Review
GREENSBURG, Pa. — It started with a gray T-shirt printed with a simple slogan: “PSP Strong.”
Now “PSP Strong” is a statewide nonprofit organization that has raised $600,000 for state troopers and their families over the last three years.
The organization will hold a sale and blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Hempfield Volunteer Fire Department #2, 421 Thornton Ave.
The proceeds will benefit the family of Trooper Landon Weaver, 23, who was fatally shot in Huntingdon County in December while questioning a man about a protection from abuse order violation. The shooter, Jason Robison, was later shot and killed in a standoff with police.
PSP Strong is a group of troopers’ wives trying to make life better for state police families facing hardship or tragedy, said Chelsie Sobecki, a member who helped organize the Hempfield sale.
“This is a very unique group of individuals. There’s no job like it. These women and these men, they’re amazing, they really are. So when they talk about that thin blue line, they are really talking about a strong, connected family,” she said.
The first PSP Strong shirts were designed, printed and sold in the aftermath of the 2014 ambush in Blooming Grove, Pike County, that killed Trooper Bryon Dickson and injured Trooper Alex Douglass.
Several troopers’ wives wanted to find a way to rally community support during the 48-day manhunt for suspected shooter Eric Frein, said PSP Strong President Danielle Petros. They chatted on Facebook to figure out the design, and within days of the ambush had 400 shirts printed.
“We sold out in less than an hour, and we thought we’d better strike while the iron’s hot and try to raise as much money for the families as possible,” she said.
The initial rush of proceeds went to the families of Dickson and Douglass. Now the organization supports families of troopers statewide who are sick, injured or killed.
PSP Strong intensified its efforts after Weaver’s death.
“Because we had another tragedy, people were looking for ways to support Weaver’s family,” said Alicia Williams, who organized the upcoming Hempfield sale.
Several types of PSP Strong apparel and merchandise will be available, although the original gray shirt remains the most popular, Petros said.
In addition to the merchandise sale, the event will feature a bake sale and 50/50 raffle.
Central Blood Bank will hold a blood drive.
“Trooper Weaver lost his life. Donating blood can save a life,” Williams said.
Sobecki said the fundraiser and blood drive are ways to preserve Weaver’s legacy.
“A hero doesn’t just die at the end of his watch,” she said.
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©2017 Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.)