Volunteering: Mardell Sandstrom keeps focus on team

264

When you talk to Mardell Sandstrom, a VIPs Support Service Coordinator with the Maricopa Police Department, you will never hear her use the word “I.”

Sandstrom gives 40 hours a week at the Maricopa Police Department. She started volunteering in 2020 for two reasons. First, with a successful career in health information management concluded and her kids grown up, she wanted to contribute to the community. Second, she grew tired of the negative publicity being heaped on police nationally.

“It’s so different here,” Sandstrom said. “When you see how much our police officers here care, it is amazing. They all are considerate people who are working hard to serve our community, and I wanted to do something to support them.”

Sandstrom is one of many volunteers who work as part of Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) to support the day-to-day operations of the force and special events.
Sandstrom is proud of the program for many reasons, including the amount of time invested by the department’s 50 volunteers and 10 volunteer chaplains.

“We just did the accounting a day or two ago and there were 8,718 hours of work performed by our volunteers for 2021,” she said.

To be a volunteer, you have to think about others. When asked about what she does, Sandstrom took the time to break down the whole volunteer operation.

“There’s Operations, Mary Terwilliger is the coordinator,” Sandstrom said. “They take care of vehicle maintenance. There’s also transport, which will take a vehicle to Phoenix if a major piece of equipment needs to be installed.”

Sandstrom also included the Radar team, which sets up mobile radar trailers and calibrates them to the correct speeds to alert the public as to how fast they are driving. And there’s also the Cops on Patrol.

Sandstrom also spoke of the Victim Service Unit, which is coordinated by Barry Vogel. It includes YANA (You Are Not Alone), which calls people who are confined to their home as part of community outreach. There’s also a Crisis Response team and Victim Services Unit, which includes chaplains and a comfort dog.

Sandstrom’s work also consists of clerical support for the department, including evidence, records and communications.

Read about more volunteers.

This content was first published in the April edition of InMaricopa magazine.