The first-ever Riverside Volunteer Fire Department calendar is now available for purchase.
Fire Chief Chad Smothers says the calendar will not feature firefighters in “hunky” poses, but it does have images of their member volunteers, firefighting equipment, and other organizations they partner with on fire calls including the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Communications Center and Ambulance Service. Smothers says they’ve considered producing a calendar in the past, but this year it finally came out of necessity, “Obviously, with the way things have been in 2020, our normal fundraisers that we did were cancelled for not being able to have events in person. So, we’re just trying to come up with ways to raise some funds (and) help offset some of our yearly budget from the city and the townships to help supply funds for equipment. What better year to try to see if it works.”
Smothers says calendars are $20 each and Sharon Telephone Company based in Hills bought the first 100 printed. He says that $2,000 has helped the department make up some ground in their fundraising efforts which also included selling community support tee shirts which raised $1,000 and a drive through barbeque pork meal in November that raised $9,000. Smothers says they’re about $5,000 short of the money they would raise in a normal year, but all things considered, they’re sitting in pretty good shape. He says calendars can be ordered by contacting the department through their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/