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For 75 years the Gay Volunteer Fire Department has served their community in times of crisis. And since 1971 the Gay Volunteer Fire Auxiliary has been there to support the men and women of the fire department. This year the auxiliary will join other Copper Country non-profits benefiting from the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation’s Giving Tuesday. Firefighter and Auxiliary Treasurer, Sherry Middlemis Brown says that the group was excited to learn that their organization was selected to join the largest day of giving in the region.
But we do have a millage now. But that can only go toward fire vehicles. And we need personal protective equipment. We have two medical first responders, and we have three more of our firefighters who want to become medical first responders. So we have a lot of needs that they can’t pay for easily. And that’s where the Auxiliary can step in. And we’ve been matching grants with them, as well as directly purchasing materials that they need. – Sherry Middlemis-Brown, Treasurer and Firefighter, Gay Volunteer Fire Auxiliary
The Gay Fire Auxiliary plans to use funds from this year’s donations and Copper Shores match funds will go toward upgrading the firefighters’ protective equipment. Throughout the years the auxiliary has been able to secure FEMA and other first responder grants to maintain the department’s equipment, trucks, and facility. The Gay Fire Department covers a large area of southern Keweenaw County and assists in northern Houghton County.
We’re kind of an all-service provider in that respect. We get a lot of medical calls. Lift assistance, if someone has fallen on the ice and needs help getting up. We are blessed that we have had a lot of calls for fires, but we do go out for a lot of accidents, collisions, and things like that. Our road, getting to town, is curvy and winding, we’re out kind of in the middle of nowhere. So if someone goes off the road we are there to help them. – Sherry Middlemis-Brown, Treasurer and Firefighter, Gay Volunteer Fire Auxiliary
Giving Tuesday with the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation last year raised over 650,000 dollars from individuals in the community and from friends of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Annually the foundation has provided a match sum to add to the day of giving’s total. Adding up to over 2.7 million dollars spread throughout the copper country over the past six years. Find more information about Giving Tuesday with the Copper Shores Community Health Foundation here, and more about the Gay Volunteer Fire Auxiliary here.
