Salisbury Fire Raises Money For WSW Chapter

Salisbury Fire Raises Money For WSW Chapter
Salisbury Fire

SALISBURY – On the heels of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Salisbury Fire Department presented a check to Women Supporting Women superseding prior year donations.
“This is year three of our efforts to support Women Supporting Women and breast cancer awareness, and this is our biggest year to date. We hope that is a trend that keeps moving forward,” Fire Chief Rick Hoppes said.
Fire Department employees returned to Council Chambers this year wearing pink Salisbury Fire Department T-shirts, which were sold as part of the fundraiser. As in past years, the fire department also hosted a corn hole tournament where every department of the city was represented and participated.
“This is a very special time that we get to commemorate the efforts not only of the Fire Department but of all of the city and our city employees who supported such a wonderful charity, and a wonderful cause of Women Supporting Women and breast cancer awareness,” Hoppes said. “It is not just the Fire Department that should be here but we could have all the city employees lined up here and give them the same amount of recognition … we appreciate all of the leadership from the department’s heads and the participation from all of our peers in public service.”
Hoppes identified Firefighter/Paramedic Aaron Colegrove, Firefighter/Paramedic Chris Truitt and Assistant Fire Chief Darrin Scott as those who spearheaded the fundraising initiative.
“It has grown tremendous over the past three years. We raised $800 in the first year and two years later we are up to over $3,000,” Colegrove said.
This year the Fire Department raised $3,135 for Women Supporting Women local services. Last year the department set a goal of $1,500 and exceeded that by raising $2,235.
Women Supporting Women is a grass-roots local non-profit organization which was founded in 1993 by three area women, Harriette Fine, Carol Prager and Sue Revelle. They started the group out of their homes after discovering the need to help women through their journey with breast cancer. It has since grown to serve the entire Delmarva Peninsula, and currently has offices in Salisbury, Ocean City and Crisfield, with an additional support group in Cambridge.
Women Supporting Women offers information tote bags for the newly diagnosed and their significant others, chemotherapy, radiation, recurrence, and for the children of survivors.
The organization also offers post-surgery comfort “piglet” pillows that are soft under-arm support for post-surgery comfort, as well as a lift chair loaner program, which are automatic recliners for those recovering from double-mastectomies.
Other free services provided are private and confidential mentoring by an individual matched in age and circumstances, support group meetings led by a licensed facilitator in several locations monthly, a monthly newsletter for both survivors and supporters, education materials for speeches, seminars, and health fairs, a lending library with over 500 supportive books and movies, and free wigs, hats and scarves to survivors of all types of cancer.
For more information on Women Supporting Women visit www.womensupportingwomen.org or their Facebook page. There are also offices located Wicomico, Worcester, Somerset, and Dorchester counties.
“It is our intent with the grace God given to us that we can participate in this year after year as fun as it has been to participate in, and it is such a worthy cause, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to support them,” Hoppes concluded.