OFPD Foundation event seeks to raise funds for 4 new annual scholarships

April 28, 2014 | Filed under: Community,events | Posted by:
OFPD Foundation event seeks to raise funds for 4 new annual scholarships 5.00/5 (100.00%) 3 votes

OFPD Foundation event seeks to raise funds for 4 new annual scholarships

Firefighters battle fire. Generic image. Wikipedia

Firefighters battle fire. Generic image. Wikipedia

The Orland Fire Protection District¹s Foundation will launch a scholarship program that will provide four scholarships each year to encourage young people to pursue careers in firefighting and emergency medical services.

Patricia Brucki, who serves as a Foundation trustee, said that the scholarship funds will come from the Foundation¹s annual fundraising efforts which raise money for a variety of projects including the popular Community CARE program, the kids fire and life safety camp and Knox boxes.

The next fundraiser is scheduled for May 15 at 94 West Steak & Seafood Restaurant, in the evening from 6 pm until  8:30 pm.

“We want to encourage and help young people to look at firefighting as a career option and we think the scholarships will help give them the base to get started,” Brucki explained.

“So many people come up and ask about pursuing firefighting and EMS as a career and we think there is nothing more noble than dedicating your life to helping those in need.”

Brucki said the OFPD Foundation will offer four scholarships for $1,000 each beginning next year. Two scholarships will go to the public and two will go to children of firefighters to encourage a family tradition in public emergency service.

“We are still working out all of the details but we hope to be able to present the scholarships next year,” Brucki said.

The Orland Fire Protection District Foundation, which was re-organized in 2012, has scheduled a fundraiser for Thursday May 15 beginning at 6 pm at 94 West Steak & Seafood Restaurant.

The Foundation provides financial and volunteer assistance to the Kids Fire and Safety Camp, creates Awareness T-shirts for the Community CARE Program, and provides funding support for the purchase of AEDs for public businesses and organizations such as the Teen Bridge Center.

The Orland Fire Foundation is a not for profit 501(c)3 organization aimed at providing fire prevention and public safety awareness to the Orland Fire District Community.  Our current areas of focus include:

·      Community Care - CPR/AED/PADS training

·      Kids Fire and Safety Camp

·      OFPD Residential Knox Box program

“Looking to the future, we are in the process of creating a ‘legacy Scholarship’ for the sons and daughters of fire service personnel,” Brucki said.

Brucki noted that the event will feature raffles, music and entertainment, food and refreshments, plus attendees will be able to pose for photos with the OFPD Hook and Ladder Fire Truck which will be at the reception.

In April of 2012 the Orland Fire Foundation was re-established to include members of the Board of Trustees, the administration, the Union, and the community at large.

To donate or purchase tickets for the May 15 fundraiser at 94 West Restaurant, click here to go to the Foundation Website.

END

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Ray Hanania

Blogger, Columnist at Illinois News Network Online
Ray Hanania is senior blogger for the Illinois News Network online news site. He is an award winning former Chicago City Hall political reporter and columnist who covered the beat from 1976 through 1992 (From Mayor Daley to Mayor Daley).

In 1976, he was hired by the Chicago community newspaper The Southtown Economist (Daily Southtown) and in 1985 was hired by the Chicago Sun-Times and covered Chicago City Hall for both. In 1993, he launched the “The Villager” Newspapers which covered 12 Southwest Chicagoland suburban regions. He hosted a live weekend Radio Show on WLS AM radio from 1980 through 1991, and also on WBBM FM, WLUP FM and shows on WSBC AM in Chicago and WNZK AM in Detroit.

Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media;In 2009, he received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. Hanania has also received two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild, and in 1990 was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.

Hanania’s writings have been published in newspapers around the world. He currently is syndicated through Creators Syndicate and his column is feature every Sunday in the Saudi Gazette in Saudi Arabia. He has written for the Jerusalem Post, YNetNews.com, Newsday in New York, the Orlando Sentinel, the Houston Chronicle, The Daily Star, the News of the World, the Daily Yomimuri in Tokyo, Chicago Magazine, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald, and Aramco Magazine. His Chicagoland political columns are published in the Southwest News-Herald and Des Plaines Valley News on several Chicagoland blogs including the OrlandParker.com and SuburbanChicagoland.com.

Hanania is the President/CEO of Urban Strategies Group media and public affairs consulting which has clients in Illinois, Florida, Michigan and Washington D.C.

His personal website is www.TheMediaOasis.com. Email him at: [email protected].

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