Though it wasn’t a holiday weekend, the two-day Fill The Boot collection staged by the Escalon Fire Department still raised a sizeable amount of money for the Firefighters Burn Institute.
Coordinated this year by reserve firefighter Nathan Rodriguez, assisted by reserve Kaden Christensen, the effort saw several Escalon firefighters armed with their turnout boots, seeking donations throughout the day on both Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 26 and 27.
“We ended up raising around $21,000; that is our unofficial count, we will only get the official count by the bank when we deposit the cash, change and Venmo donations,” Rodriguez said on Monday. “We had 16 firefighters, as well as the Christensen family to help us count money and relieve people when breaks were needed.”
The firefighters staggered their shifts on the collection line, often working in pairs and staged at the main intersection of Highway 120-McHenry-Escalon Avenue, with teams on all corners and venturing in to the street as the traffic signals allowed.
Rodriguez said they saw primarily cash donations as motorists drove through the main intersection. In the past, the effort has often been hosted on a long holiday weekend to take advantage of the higher traffic volume, but officials were pleased with the overall donations.
“The cash count was about $20,600 and there was $400 in Venmo donations,” Rodriguez said. “And five freezer bags of change.”
Among those new to the effort were reserves Adam Michael and Jonathan Boudreaux, who were busy not only taking donations in their turnout boots, but also dancing in the streets to the music being played on site.
For Boudreaux, a reserve currently going through the fire academy who has been with Escalon for a little over a year, it was a good way to spend some time this past weekend.
“Getting to help out burn victims,” he said of the best part of the collection effort. “I mean, if I got burned, it’s great to know that there’s something out there to help me.”
All money donated goes to the Firefighters Burn Institute in Sacramento to help provide treatment and education for burn victims to aid in their recovery.
