Chilliwack’s firefighters do more than just fight fires. They are constantly volunteering their time and energy into making Chilliwack a better place, and there’s no better time for the community to give back to them than at Christmas.
How? By doing a little Christmas shopping for some local fire department swag. The Chilliwack Firefighters Charitable Society is once again selling their calendars, featuring photographs of their members from each hall across the area in both fun and stoic poses. The photography was provided by Cory Carruthers Photography. The calendars are sold for a minimum donation of $10 toward the society, and can purchased from their booth at Cottonwood Mall by Shopper Services, or at the customer service desk at London Drugs.
But where does all that money go?
The Chilliwack Firefighters Charitable Society gives to and supports numerous organizations throughout the community, including the Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation, Salvation Army Food Bank, Movember Men’s Health, Chilliwack Community Services, Coats for Kids, Bowls of Hope, the Chilliwack Hospice Society, Ruth and Naomi’s, Ann Davis, the Chilliwack Hospital Foundation, the BC Firefighters’ Burn Camp, the Burn Fund Centre, and the ReMax Toy Drive.
There are no paid positions in their society, allowing them to donate more than 95 per cent of monies raised back to the community. So far, they’ve raised more than $120,000. The society includes 150 members from six fire halls, both career and paid-on-call staff.
In addition to the annual calendar, the society is always selling clothing items through their online site (www.chwkfirecharity.ca) or at the Chilliwack Fire Department. They carry a selection of T-shirts, hoodies, hats, toques and sweatpants.