West Central Initiative awarded $1,000 grants to 21 fire departments in west central Minnesota. Most of the grant funds came from the Philanthropic Preparedness, Resiliency and Emergency Partnership (PPREP) Community Foundation Disaster Response Fund, a project of The Funders Network, to help communities prepare for and recover from disaster.
“For the second year, we’re distributing The Funders Network grants to fire departments in our region that serve communities and townships with fewer than 600 residents,” said West Central Initiative’s Director of Development Rebecca Lynn Petersen. “These volunteer departments play a critical role in emergency response in our rural communities.”
Grant Recipients
Ashby Fire Department
Audubon Fire Department
Barrett Fire Department
Brandon Fire Department
Browns Valley Fire Department
Carlos Fire Department
Chokio Fire Department
Cyrus Fire Department
Deer Creek Fire Department
Donnelly Fire Department
Garfield Fire Department
Herman Fire Department
Kensington Fire Department
Leaf Valley Township Fire Department
Lowry Fire Department
Miltona Fire Department
Rothsay Fire Department
Ulen Fire Department
Underwood Fire Department
Vergas Fire Department
Villard Fire Department
Support Your Local Fire Department
In addition to balancing the financial needs of rural fire departments, recruiting and retaining volunteers is a pressing priority. “Within the fire service, we’re seeing a declining number of volunteers,” said Dave Coufal, Fire Chief of the Lake Park Fire Department and President of the Northwest Region of the Minnesota State Fire Department Association. He highlights the crucial need for volunteers in many rural departments and stresses that firefighters come from diverse backgrounds and experiences. “The only thing that sets us apart from everyone else is we understand if we’re not there, no one’s going to respond.”
