Be prepared: Silverton Fire organizes community drive

By Tanner Russ

There is a reason the volunteer and staff firefighters of the Silverton Fire Department take on an extra project every December.

“Every child should open up a gift on Christmas and every child should go to bed with a full tummy, that’s our goal,”  Silverton Fire Capt. Ed Grambusch said.

For 15 years, the Silverton Fire Department has organized the Toy and Food Drive. They need assistance from the community to reach their goal. They will be touring neighborhoods and knocking on doors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5 and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6.

Donations of unwrapped toys and nonperishable food items are prized. The food will be given to Silverton Area Community Aid; the toys to the Silverton Zenith Club for its Tree of Giving program.

If the weekend drive doesn’t fit your schedule, you can drop off items at business locations around Silverton through Dec. 21.

“Silverton Area Community Aid, they really depend on our food drive during November and December,” Grambusch said. “They get an awful lot from us. It feeds a lot of needy people in our area. The Silverton Zenith Women’s Club, we give all the toys to them, and they have a huge wrapping party at Immanuel Lutheran Church on Church Street. It looks like Santa’s workshop,” he added.

Grambusch explained why the firefighters step up for different roles in community service during the holidays.

“Community involvement doesn’t stop with making sure we’re all right as a community, it’s taking another step to make sure that everyone is accounted for in that community, and if they have a need they’re accounted for,” Grambusch said.

“Helping out is great, and having warm wishes is great, but taking the extra step and putting a couple of cans of food in the barrel is just one more thing you can do to help your neighbor, whether you know them or not.”

He expects this year’s drive to break previous records and praised the efforts of this year’s organizer.

“The volunteer who is in charge of this, Lt. Ray Dandeneau, he has just done a bang up job, and if anyone should be congratulated it should be him,” Grambusch said.

“He’s so passionate about this. Last year, and the year before, and the year before, he has just done so much volunteer time, and every year we’ve gotten more and more food. Every year we hope it’s a record breaker, and we’re hoping this year will be the same thing.”