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Editorial
Returning their gift
Christmas is the traditional time of giving, and so it is an appropriate time to remember those who give throughout the entire year. Rappahannock’s fire and rescue companies stand ready every hour, every day, to give the gift of life to their neighbors in need.
But just as important, and sometimes overlooked, those : volunteer organizations depend in turn for their life on the generosity of their neighbors. For daily operating funds, for : equipment and supplies to keep the fire trucks and ambulances running, the seven companies in the county look to their neighbors for assistance.
Most people have already made out their Christmas lists, remembering family, friends, associates at work, the postman and others who help them throughout the year. It’s not yet too late to add in a contribution to your local fire and rescue company. Although it might not arrive before Christmas, it will still be appreciated by the volunteers.
Those volunteer, your neighbors, provide a service which everyone, including them, pray will never be needed.
They hope that the training which they give of their own time to take will never have to be used.
They hope that the equipment which they refurbished and maintain with their own time will sit, unused, inside the garage.
They hope that the supplies, which they worked to raise the money to buy, will never have to be replaced.
It’s easy to forget about a service which everyone hopes will never be used, and which many county residents are fortunate not to require. But it’s a necessary, and expensive, service to provide. By relying on volunteers to run fire and rescue services, the taxes of all the county’s residents are kept lower. That’s yet another, seldom recognized, contribution the volunteers make.
A donation of any size, large or small, would be a wonderful way to say “Merry Christmas” and “Thank you for giving!” to your neighbors, Rappahannock’s fire and rescue volunteers. It’s a perfect gift, the most precious gift of all: The gift of life.
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