For Immediate Release
August 22, 2014
SLIDELL/ST. BERNARD FIREFIGHTERS, LOCAL RETIRED AND ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY ALONG WITH OTHERS GEARING UP FOR TORNADO RECOVERY EFFORT IN OKLAHOMA
Slidell, LA. – In 2005 our community and region was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In the months that followed, we were all fortunate and blessed to receive an incredible amount of help and support from every corner of our great country by people ready to lend us a hand in our recovery. In that spirit of giving, our Firefighters have continued that tradition of “Paying Forward” a helping hand to another community in need, after experiencing a disaster in their community. Over the past few years we have also been joined by other members of our community who want to help as well. In our ninth year now, we have joined other volunteers from around the country that now exceeds over 300 people. We hope to have about 20 people from our group attend this year’s rebuild project.
On the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks we all join forces in some community affected by disaster, to keep that American tradition of giving “alive”. We have joined forces with the New York Says Thank You Foundation out of New York, started in 2003 as the idea of a five year old boy wanting to give some of his toys to children who lost theirs in a disaster, their goal is to “pay forward” each year the kindness and generosity of others that they experienced following the deadly attacks on our country, that they received from around the U.S. Having come to Slidell after Hurricane Katrina to help us, I learned of their story and decided to use that same idea of “paying forward” other communities for the help we received here since Katrina.
To date, we have been to and helped disaster victims in Indiana, Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Georgia, Bottineau, North Dakota and last year Long Island, New York. This year we will be heading to Shawnee, Oklahoma. That area, as we all well know, was devastated by Tornadoes. Our group has stepped up over recent years as we have grown in size, and have become the “go to guys” on the build projects. This will be the fifth year we will be joined by St. Bernard Firefighters led by Captain Sal Cetrone. Volunteers from around the country know that with the Louisiana group there, an unbelievable amount of work will get done in a short time.
This year from Sept. 3rd – 7th we will be involved in a number of projects helping the many people that were devastated from the series of tornadoes that hit the Shawnee, Oklahoma area.
In the past years we have been blessed with local support in helping sponsor our group and help in raising the needed funds for travel, meals and lodging expenses for our volunteers who take their own personal time to travel to these areas to help others. Our group is honored to represent our community and region every year in this noble endeavor and hope that your support will help us do it again this year. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated and your kindness will be felt across the country.
Donations can be given to any member of our group to turn in or be mailed to Slidell Firefighters Association at:
1358 Corporate Square Blvd.
Slidell, La. 70458
Attn: Erik Kreppein
Feel free to contact me personally with any questions you may have concerning our upcoming trip at (cell) 985-788-6294 or @ St. Tammany Fire Dist. # 1, 985-646-4387.
For more information about St. Tammany Fire Protection District #1 visit us at www.slidellfire.org or follow us on Facebook – St. Tammany Fire District #1 and Twitter – @SlidellFire_PIO
Chad Duffaut
Chief of Fire Prevention/PIO
Cell: (985) 960-0976