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Photo courtesy of the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office. Self defense class kicking.
3-13-2023 2:32pm
Free Self-Defense Classes for Norfolk County Residents from NCSO, Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Thanks to the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office for contributing this news to Westwood Minute.
BRAINTREE, MA – Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott announced on Monday, March 13, 2023, that the Sheriff’s Office has partnered with the Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation to develop a series of free self-defense classes for Norfolk County residents. A soft-launch of the program on March 7th was filled to capacity with a waiting list of over 80 interested participants, demonstrating a strong interest and demand for such programming.
“Giving people the tools, skills, and confidence to take care of themselves is central to our mission of public safety at the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office,” said Sheriff McDermott. “By partnering with the Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation, we are able to help more people across the county feel safe and secure in their homes and in public. That is the heart of what we want to achieve.”
Photo courtesy of the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office. A participant in the self-defense class practices kicking.In the partnership, the Sheriff’s Office worked with the Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation to train NCSO officers as self-defense instructors able to guide residents through a rigorous yet understandable curriculum.
“The Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation is proud to partner with the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office on important self-protection training,” said Caroline Tocci, President and Co-Founder of the Foundation. “Both organizations are committed to increasing safety awareness and reducing violence.”
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At the soft-launch training event on Tuesday evening, participants learned both maneuvers and tips that they can use to keep themselves safe and increase their own situational awareness. One participant said she was eager to learn important survival and defense skills: “I signed up for this self-defense class to make me more aware of my surroundings and to better envision what could happen to me, to make myself more proactive rather than reactive in these types of situations and to educate my daughter,” she said.
Interest in the soft-launch was so strong that the waiting list quickly grew to over 80 participants who will be given the option of priority registration for the first formal training event to be held in the coming weeks. The Sheriff’s Office plans to deliver a series of self-defense classes at locations across Norfolk County. Information on the upcoming trainings will be posted to NCSO's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages (@NorfolkSheriff).
Photo courtesy of the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office. Pictured are the self-defense instructors participating in the program offered by the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office in partnership with the Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation.
