Wednesday, February 20, 2002
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Wednesday, February 20, 2002 |
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County fire personnel give back to community By JOHN
MUNFORD
They used to just put out the fires, patch up the wounds and if necessary get you to the hospital safely. But now Fayette County's firefighters and emergency medical personnel have cranked their helping nature up a notch. Through the "Helping the Helpers" program, they have donated an estimated $17,300 in goods to local charities who help assist needy residents in the area. Mark Johnson, a firefighter/EMT who organizes the program, said it has been more successful than he imagined. The donations have ranged from the basics, such as food, clothes and furniture, to toys, games and books. All those donations go to local charitable groups such as the Fayette Samaritans, the Fayette County Council on Domestic Violence and the Braelinn Baptist Church community services division. Those organizations step in to help local residents long after firefighters, EMTs and paramedics have left the scene, Johnson noted. "We call on them when there's a family that has been burned out of their home or of we find a family in need," Johnson said. He added that paramedics and EMTs sometimes run across local families who are barely getting by and could use some help. Johnson, who has spearheaded the program, sends out a monthly letter to each county fire station listing the items received along with the employee who made the donation. "That way, everybody can look at it and see where it's going," Johnson said. Often, it's just a matter of digging around the closet or cleaning out the basement of items that aren't used anymore, Johnson said. He added that he has been pleasantly surprised with the quality of the donations, which he inspects item by item before distributing them to the charities. "It has been a tremendous outpouring from everybody in the department," Johnson said. "I get calls and e-mails from all the stations." Johnson picks up donations at the stations when summoned, and he takes the items to his garage where he can sort and inspect them. Each employee gets an itemized list of what they donated from Johnson and can get a receipt for tax purposes from the agency that received the goods. "We're doing this year-round because people just don't need help during the holidays," Johnson said.
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