Community Corner
Fire Dept. Coffee Foundation Raises Funds For Firefighter-Led Mission
Project Joint Guardian is working to raise $40,000 to send a group of 10 volunteers to Ukraine with donated emergency response equipment.
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ROCKFORD, IL — Project Joint Guardian, a first-of-its-kind, firefighter-led aid mission, is raising funds to help transport thousands of pounds of emergency response equipment and volunteers to support first responders on the ground in Ukraine.
The Fire Department Coffee Foundation announced this week starting now throughout April, all donations to our charitable foundation will support Project Joint Guardian as it works to raise the $40,000 required to fly the first group of volunteers and donated supplies to Poland. Upon arrival, the group will bring the equipment over ground to areas in need in Ukraine.
Anyone interested in donating today can visit the Fire Department Coffee Foundation website and select “Donate” at the bottom of the page.
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“We’ve seen the toll that this war has taken on the people of Ukraine, and we stand in solidarity with the first responders there who are working nonstop to save as many lives as possible,” said Luke Schneider, founder and president of Fire Dept. Coffee. “Project Joint Guardian is something that has never been done before, but it’s desperately needed. So we want to do all we can to help it succeed.”
The effort, led by Southern California firefighter and Army veteran Eric Hille, has collected a stockpile of donated equipment, including power units, combi tools, cutters, struts, ballistics gear, communications equipment, medic bags and more. Hille has also recruited hundreds of volunteers willing to go into Ukraine to supply, train and work alongside the local first responders.
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Those who raised their hands to go are professional and volunteer firefighters, paramedics and EMTs from across the United States, Canada and beyond.
The final hurdle is securing the funding necessary to get the equipment and the first group of volunteers into Ukraine so they can begin their work.
The first team of 10 volunteers, which will include Hille, will fly into Poland with the donated equipment before traveling by ground into Ukraine, where they will deliver the gear and spend 14 days training and supporting their Ukrainian counterparts. Then they will be replaced by the next group of 10, and the cycle will repeat as long as the resources and the need are there.
This press release was produced by Fire Dept. Coffee. The views expressed here are the author's own.