Oglethorpe County Fire Rescue (OCFR) recently held a fundraiser benefiting Oglethorpe County Family Connection. Firefighter Matthew Echols came up with the idea of hosting a fundraiser to benefit an outside organization while also raising awareness for breast cancer. Echols worked with other OCFR members to design, promote, and sell the shirt. Shirt sales began in late July and ran through mid-September. OCFR had almost fifty orders and sold over 120 shirts to fire department members, as well as local Oglethorpe County residents. “We were blown away by the support of the community,” Echols stated on October 1st as the shirts were being distributed.
The fundraiser raised a total of $1,502.07. OCFR rounded that amount up and presented a check totaling $2,000.00 to April Moore, the Oglethorpe County Family Connection Coordinator on October 21st, 2021 at OCFR Station 10: Beaverdam. These funds will go straight to work here in Oglethorpe County to help make a difference in the life (or lives) of those who may be facing financial hardship due to medical bills and expenses.
OCFR is excited to have formed a relationship with Oglethorpe County Family Connection. “While this is the first fundraiser of its kind that OCFR has done to benefit Family Connection, it will not be the last,” Cody Gibbs, OCFR Public Information Officer stated, “Our department would like to give back to the county in more ways than just fire and emergency response.” OCFR plans to work with the Family Connection as they kick off their Community Risk Reduction campaign in 2022.