Where Can You Add Extra Sprinkles to Your Service?

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33404001@N03/

Last weekend, the Hiawatha Fire Department kicked off its MDA Fill the Boot drive in advance of Labor Day Weekend to give volunteers who travel over the holiday an additional chance to contribute to the campaign. 

On that Friday night, three Hiawatha Fire members, Jake Hatch, Josh Holland and Eric Hoover broke a volunteer value record by bringing in $250 for MDA for each hour they volunteered at the Boyson and Robins intersection in Hiawatha. 

By the second shift on Saturday, the intersection volunteers looked they could use a little pick-me-up. Queue Culver's in Hiawatha.  It was peanut butter frozen custard day Saturday! A casual conversation with the Culver's staff yielded the information that the custard was headed for the dedicated MDA volunteers.

When the cups of custard were prepared, Culver's had added extra peanut butter sprinkles to the top of each two-scoop cup. They delivered the extra sprinkles with the widest possible smile and asked that their appreciation be passed on to the volunteers.


The smiles on the volunteers' faces were equally wide when they were surprised with the custard and the "extra sprinkles" and good wishes from the staff at Culver's.  This simple gesture had tremendous impact on a demanding weekend for the campaign volunteers.


As you look towards the rest of 2011, what can you start doing today to add "extra sprinkles" to the emergency response experience for your fellow members, your patients and your community? Share your ideas and thoughts in the comments section below.
 
If you're interested in more information the strong connection between MDA and the Fire Service (both volunteer and career), click here. 


If you're interested in more information on how you might make a difference for people impacted by more than 40  debilitating muscular diseases during the 2011 Labor Day Telethon being broadcast tonight, click here.

Thanks for Being a Santa to Your Communities

On par with nationwide tradition, a recent holiday parade in the wonderful community of New Smyrna Beach, Florida ended with a colorful visit from Santa Claus. The excitement on the children's faces was remarkable. The sense of quiet appreciation on the faces of the adults was also noticeable. Perhaps the greatest sense of joy was present in Santa's response to his community. Santa filled a critical role of bringing holiday excitement in New Smryna Beach to its highest levels. As I reflected on this tradition and Santa's ever-present role in the holidays, I started thinking about the similarities to the Fire Service.

Firefighters across the country serve quietly and without expectation of recognition. Every firefighter I've ever talked to has taken great joy in their opportunity to serve. They are quick to say they get more out of the experience than the people they serve. They cite the meaning of the chance to help and the adrenaline rush that comes with the pager call as two of many reasons they enjoy being firefighters.

Communities across the country benefit throughout the year from the Santa-like service of firefighters. As dependable as Santa's presence at the end of every holiday parade, firefighters are there every time the pager calls. Firefighters respond whether it's the middle of family dinner or the middle of the night on Christmas Eve. Firefighters meet critical community needs by being an automatic part of what happens when someone dials 911. This automatic response brightens the community and the children and adults who are a part of it. The greatest joy this brings may be to the firefighters themselves.

Filling this need so naturally and joyfully makes firefighters "Santas" of sort in their communities. Thanks to every Fire Service member nationwide for being as much a dependable and critical part of life in your communities as Santa is to the end of every holiday parade!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from FlashPoint Fundraising!

Let's Fill the Boot Even Higher in 2009

The historic connection between Jerry's Kids/MDA is decades long and hundreds of thousands of dollars in support deep. That rich tradition is alive and well in Iowa. Whether your Fill the Boot efforts come from Labor Day weekend activity, your community summer parade or another event, thank you for making a tremendous difference for the families impacted by 43 neuromuscual diseases.

The Hiawatha Fire Department was recognized at Wednesday night's Hiawatha City Council meeting for being the top volunteer fire department in Iowa in terms of MDA Fill the Boot fundraising. This team raised $13,018 in 2008 to rank 5th among all fire departments in Iowa! Hiawatha sets up at storefront and intersection locations the weekend prior to and the weekend of Labor Day to reach this total. A few thoughts on how Hiawatha made this achievement possible:

1. Incredibly generous supporters. To everyone who lives in or drove though Hiawatha during the 2008 Fill the Boot, thank you!

2. Amazing volunteers. A core group of members and families of Hiawatha Fire gave 123 hours of time over two weekends in 2008. Many make it a family project. For each hour they worked, $106.27 was raised for MDA. Thank you, volunteers!

3. Resource allocation. Close tracking of funds raised during each shift at each location in 2007 allowed more effective allocation of volunteers in 2008 to ensure the most money possible was raised for the people served by MDA.

4. Cultivation. MDA District Director Teresa Cooper visits a Hiawatha Fire meeting to explain the project's value. Each volunteer and known donor receives a personal note. Key partners are thanked if time is available on the MDA Telethon.

A few ideas for Fill the Boot consideration in your community:
1. Setup a crowd connection at a popular community event - sporting event, summer parade, etc.
2. Ask your city for information on the intersections in your community with the most traffic. Find out what times the most traffic goes through those intersections and setup your Fill the Boot stations accordingly.
3. Consider collaborating with other community organizations like school service clubs, Rotary Clubs, etc. to ensure volunteer shifts are filled.
4. Creatively engage your members and/or local business community with challenge grants, mini boots in stores, small items to decorate windows with in return for a donation, etc.
5. Contact anyone you know who has been assisted by MDA efforts and offer them the chance to join in giving back.

By sharing more ideas, firefighters can have an even greater impact on Jerry's Kids in 2009. Together, we can Fill the Boot even higher in 2009 to benefit the people served through MDA! Your ideas in the comment section will make this happen. If your Fire Department wants to join or build on your Fill the Boot office, you may find your local MDA office by entering your zip code on the home page of http://www.mda.org. For more information on the state-leading efforts in Hiawatha, contact Josh Holland or Dawn Svenson Holland.

Honoring the Miracles in Our Lives

The Resurrection celebration of Easter Sunday provided the perfect backdrop today for a personal journey filled with miracles to come full circle.

Following my father's sudden passing in 2005, we tried to follow his example of good work with memorial projects. The final project we decided to implement was at the Iowa Firefighter's Memorial in Coralville. A visit to this special place honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and those who served ten years or more with in the Iowa Fire Service is strongly recommended. The City of Coralville and the Iowa Firefighters Association are to be commended for their partnership in this project.

My father, Gary D. Svenson, was an unassuming Christian servant who applied his skills positively and passionately with the Iowa Fire Service, as well as many other avenues. Dad's greatest joy came from his family. The first pages of his self-produced retirement book after 33 years with the Decorah Fire Department were dedicated to his pride in his brothers Carl and Dave Svenson. Together, these three Svenson brothers represent more than 100 years of dedication to the Iowa Fire Service. Stories like the Svenson brothers abound throughout firefighting in Iowa.

Not every idea in the original architectual plans could be implemented when the Memorial was built in the early 1990's. Thanks to wonderful input from Mike and Joan Reuman of Traer (volunteer treasurers/chairs of this project), we found the perfect project to implement from that original plan.

There are now two benches along the center line of the memorial site handcrafted by an Iowa company. Scott Coberly and the dedicated City of Coralville Parks team even managed to successfully take receipt of the benches in the middle of summer 2008 flooding.

In September 2008, I had the honor of witnessing the pride on my Uncle Carl's face when we let him know of this special project honoring him and his two brothers during the flood-rescheduled annual memorial service. Today, I had the honor of witnessing the same pride when we told Uncle Dave the news as we walked to the Memorial following Easter brunch at the Holiday Inn.

My dad was and my Uncle Carl and Uncle Dave are miracles in my life. I am awed and humbled by their dedication to fighting fires, promoting safety education and helping anyone in need. Throughout it all, they managed to make me feel like the luckiest daughter and niece in the world.

The Iowa Firefighters Memorial will forever be a special place to so many to honor the dedication of volunteer and career fire department personnel. They are miracles to their families and to everyone impacted by their work. On this joyous Easter day, may we all find new ways to honor and support the everyday miracles God grants in our lives.