When Red Feather Lakes Fire Protection District called for help in May, they found it close at hand. A group of concerned citizens banded together and formed Red Feather Lakes Fire Protection District Supporters with the goal of providing volunteers and forming a 501(c)(3) organization to receive tax deductible gifts made to the fire department.
Led by president Edie Gause, the group, calling itself RFLFPD Supporters, established a board made up of property owners and/or year-round residents of the district. They include Judy Putnam, Jon Liebman, MaryAnn DellaFera, Georgia Robedeau and Protection District liaison from the district board, Robin Whittington.
The board lost no time becoming active. They hosted Fourth of July fireworks and a thank-you dinner for volunteer firefighters from Livermore, Poudre Canyon, Glacier View, Crystal Lakes and Red Feather Lakes, including Larimer County sheriff’s deputies who put on the display. RFL residents Carl and Duane Sanders cooked hamburgers for everyone.
On Labor Day a Fire Day celebration in Red Feather Lakes featured fire truck rides, a craft show, luncheon, with a medical helicopter on site and opportunities for making donations. A First Responders Day dinner honored local firefighters and EMTs in September with pizza from The Basil at 181 and homemade items contributed by the board.
A solicitation letter sent to property owners in the fall netted more than $18,000 in donations from nearly 200 people and made possible presentation of a check to help purchase a backup camera for the district’s ambulance and hand-held GPS units to facilitate communication while fighting wildfires.
In the coming year, the Supporters will make formal application for non-profit status and will continue their activities including a fall solicitation letter, Fire Day Weekend, support of dinners and expressions of thanks to volunteer firefighters, EMTs and those serving on the Fire District and Supporter boards.
Contact the Supporters at [email protected] or PO Box 23, Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, 80545 or at 970-290-2968.