SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Saint Petersburg Police Department have confiscated $100,000 during felony arrests and they're giving it to nearly 50 local organizations.
Chief of Police Anthony Holloway presented a total of $100,000 in checks from asset forfeiture funds to 49 community-based programs that seek to improve neighborhood safety, promote crime prevention and drug abuse prevention.
Holloway especially is interested in assisting programs promoting positive behavior for children and teens.
One of the organizations that received a $500 check was Cloud Nine Outdoors. Cloud Nine takes high-risk kids into the outdoors to do things like archery, hunting, camping, and fishing.
Jovan McNeill, who started Cloud Nine, says he’s using the $500 they received to buy a video camera for Cloud Nine Outdoors outings.
"It'll help us record kids adventures and actually give them a lifetime of memories," said McNeill.
Nicolas Schweitzer got involved with Cloud Nine Outdoors a few years ago when his parents split up and he was failing in school.
"I wasn’t doing well in school at all because of trying to go through the whole parents' thing," said Schweitzer.
Schweitzer said if it wasn't for the help of McNeill and the outdoor fishing adventures with Cloud Nine, he may've not graduated high school.
"(McNeill) goes listen if you get a good report card I’m going to take you out on a trip," said Schweitzer. "So that report card came, I sent him a picture, next thing I know I’m on a Hubbards Marina trip and it was just the best experience I’ve ever had."
Now Schweitzer is getting ready to go to school to become a firefighter, so he can help people too.
