The Black Diamond Elementary School PTA presented $500 checks to the Black Diamond Police Department and Ginger Passarelli.

Black Diamond Elementary students handed the oversized checks to Officer Brian Lynch and Chief Jamey Kiblinger during an assembly Friday morning.

The donations were made in memory of the six officers killed in the line of duty during the past several months, but the PTA decided to keep the money local. They will be sending a note to the fallen officers’ fund organizers.

“We thought it would be more significant to the kids if they could see where it goes and how it’s used,” said Heather Invie-Notch said, Black Diamond PTA vice president, regarding the donation.

The Black Diamond Police Department’s donation will support the DARE program it has with Black Diamond Elementary fifth-grade students. Lynch, who oversees the Black Diamond project, said the drug-resistance education program will begin soon and the money will “keep things going” during these tough economic times.

Passarelli, owner of Mama Passarelli’s restaurant in Black Diamond, and her soup ladies provide meals to those in need. She and her crew spent eight days serving meals in the Lakewood area after the officers’ shooting there.

“They help so many people,” Black Diamond PTA President Tina McGann said. “They are a great group of ladies.”

“I know you guys work hard,” Passarelli said about the PTA’s donation. “So to be a recipient of that is an honor.”