Big haul at Fort Erie firefighters’ food and toy drive
Residents getting their weekly grocery shopping done and getting a start on knocking off their Christmas lists gave generously this weekend at a food and toy drive organized by Fort Erie Fire Department.
About 15 firefighters from the volunteer department were set up in front of the No Frills and Walmart on Garrison Road Saturday to collect donations of food and toys for the Salvation Army and Community Outreach Program Erie.
Firefighters also took the opportunity to send people home with fire safety tips for the holidays by handing out public education flyers.
The toy drive spanned from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. In all, four pickup trucks were filled with food and one whole fire truck was filled with donated toys. As well, people donated $3,050 in cash, which the food banks can use to purchase items it’s short on.
Organizer Chris Smith said he’s thankful for the support from the community.
“We appreciate all the help with making it a great success,” he said. “It was a good day, a really good day.”
Smith said the food and toy drive, now in its fifth year, also allows firefighters to interact with the public outside of situations where they’re responding to crises.
“It helps people out and shows we do more than just emergency calls,” he said.