Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently announced in a press release that he donated his first-quarter salary to the Virginia Law Enforcement Assistance Program (VALEAP).
VALEAP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping law enforcement officers and first responders who have undergone traumatic critical incidents in the line of duty or in their personal lives. Established in 2008, the organization has served more than 500 officers from over 60 Virginia agencies and trained over 150 law enforcement peers to date. The organization is run by a dedicated team of volunteers who are trained law enforcement professionals, including municipal police officers, sheriff’s deputies, college/university police officers, state troopers, and law enforcement chaplains.
During his 2021 campaign, Youngkin pledged to donate his gubernatorial salary. Now, he has delivered on that promise by donating a total of $43,750 to VALEAP. Youngkin announced his donation at VALEAP’s Post Critical Incident Seminar in Harrisonburg.
“I pledged to serve our Commonwealth without accepting a salary because I want to continue giving back to the Commonwealth and helping Virginians in every way I can,” Governor Youngkin said in a statement. “I have chosen to donate my salary to the Virginia Law Enforcement Assistance Program (VALEAP) because of their important mission to assist law enforcement personnel and first responders who have undergone traumatic critical incidents. This reaffirms my ongoing commitment to support our men and women in law enforcement with mental health resources, training, and equipment to ensure that we are serving those that protect our communities across the Commonwealth.”
Governor Youngkin also appeared on FOX News’ “FOX & Friends” to further call for “a budget out of our legislature that will provide much-needed raises and much needed funding for equipment and community relation programs.”
“It’s time for us to support law enforcement,” Youngkin added.
We need a budget out of our legislature that will provide raises, funding for equipment and community relation programs. It’s time for us to support law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/WkJ9t02NKe
— Governor Glenn Youngkin (@GovernorVA) April 8, 2022
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Glenn Youngkin. CC BY-SA 2.0. Photo “Virginia Law Enforcement Assistance Program” by Virginia Law Enforcement Assistance Program.
