FRANKLIN, Texas (KRHD) — The Franklin Supermarket is having a fundraiser to donate cases of water and Gatorade to the volunteer fire departments in the Robertson County.
- The fundraiser will start on Labor Day and conclude on Sep. 27.
- Rebecca Jordan is the neighbor that came up with the idea and was formerly a volunteer firefighter for Franklin for 6 months.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"I've been a firefighter in Robertson County since 2015, and this is the first time that I've seen anything like this done," Easterly Volunteer Firefighter, Austin Myers said.
A new way to stay cool and hydrated.
The Franklin Supermarket is having a fundraiser to donate waters and Gatorade to the firefighters, and for good reason.
"We're usually lacking in water and Gatorade when we go out to these fires, so, this allows our firefighters to beat the heat and stay hydrated as we continue serving the public," Franklin Volunteer Firefighter, Tyler Aaron said.
— because the heat firefighters face is like no other.
"You look at whenever you put on the fire suit, you're adding, you know, probably several tens of degrees of temperatures inside of your suit, so you dehydrate really easily," Myers said.
Rebecca Jordan is a former volunteer firefighter for Franklin, and the neighbor behind this fundraiser.
She told15ABC the department struggled with resources during her time there, and she doesn't want others neighbors to go through that too.
"We definitely had some issues getting water donated and stuff like that, because our grants don't necessarily go towards that," she said.
"I just figured, you know, I'd reach out to the community, try to help them out, especially because grass season is now upon us, and it's the hottest part of the season, and they're out there fighting fires every day."
15ABC spoke with multiple members of different volunteer fire departments from around the county.
And they told us what this fundraiser means to them.
"That's one thing I can say about our community, they've always been great with helping us and assisting us in any way," Myers said.
"We do appreciate the Franklin Supermarket for taking the initiative to reach out to the community and run this fundraiser drive for us to get hydration materials," he said.
The fundraiser will last for the entire month of September.
"We want people to start helping each other out and being there for each other, so that's why we do what we do," Jordan said.
