In this episode I speak with firefighters Gabby Parker and Ian Mack of the Orleans Fire Department about their charitable efforts surrounding the 2023 Homeless for the Holidays drive from December 6th through December 10th in Orleans.  They and their firefighting colleagues will be camping out for 103 hours straight to gather donations for this drive, the location will be directly next to the Red Balloon Toy Shop in Orleans, 116 Route 6A.   

Accepted donations will be unwrapped toys, clothing, food, financial donations and more.  This year there is a greater need for teenage clothing and unwrapped toys, but all donations are greatly appreciated.  On Saturday December 9th from 9am to noon Santa will be there with the fire truck to meet local families and he'll be joined by many of our local firefights, please come out to show your support and donate if you can!  If you have questions or can't make it in person, reach out to OFD at homelessfortheholidaysofd@gmail.com.

Bourne Fire started this charitable drive 22 years ago and has encouraged other departments, fire and police, to join their efforts.  Collectively Homeless for the Holidays has gathered over 100,000 toys, 106,000 pounds of food, over $600,000 in financial donations, and much more.  This is a great group effort from our local Fire and Police departments.  Also, if you can't support through donations this year, consider coming to support the Firefighters, say hello and share a high five, or even just share the information on social media to help boost exposure.

Thank you to Gabby, Ian and of course Chief Geof Deering for supporting this effort.  Also thanks to Todd Thayer for donating the location for this drive. 

Let's make this holiday season a good one for all of our friends, family and loved ones!

Follow Orleans Fire Dept on Instagram at @orleans_fd

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