Crime & Safety
West Pierce Fire & Rescue Taking Donations for Needy Kids
Food drive benefiting Caring For Kids will culminate in a community event on Wednesday, where people can drop off food and toiletry items —and tour a fire truck.
Do you have some food or toiletry items to spare?
West Pierce Fire & Rescue is collecting both during a drive today through Friday at two of their fire stations. All donations go to Caring For Kids, the local nonprofit that supplies needy children in the Clover Park, University Place and Steilacoom School Districts with clothes, school supplies and more.
“We’re very excited about this,” said Caring For Kids founder Diane Formoso. “We’re starting the new school year with a bang, and have already gotten calls for (supplies) for homeless kids. Whatever anyone can do for us we appreciate.”
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Nonperishable donations can be dropped off at Station 31, 3631 Drexler Drive W. in University Place; Station 20, 1092 Pacific Highway S.W. in Lakewood; and and , both of which are on Bridgeport Way Southwest in Lakewood.
Additionally, West Pierce will host a “Fill the Fire Engine” event from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday in the Safeway parking lot at the Lakewood Towne Center. In addition to taking donations, firefighters will give tours of the fire engine.
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“This is the first time for this, so we’re hoping to see a pretty good food drive,” said West Pierce Fire Chief Ken Sharp.
Formoso said that they are most in need of shampoo and soap, and canned fruits and meals such as chili or ravioli. They are given out in emergency food packs and she said that a lot of families do not have access to a stove.
“These are nice and microwavable and easy to fix,” she said. “We need food that meets those needs first.”
Other suggested items include fruit juice, cereal, toilet paper and toothbrushes.
Sharp said that many West Pierce staff members are connected with nonprofits, so they do a lot of community related events. Caring For Kids is one of the organizations that he said they are “deeply involved with.”
“They’re a real grassroots organization and do great work,” he said. “We do quite a few things with them, and it’s really just another way to give back to the community that we’re serving.”
It is something that Formoso clearly appreciates.
Not only is West Pierce putting on this event, but they also donated 100 free bike helmets for Caring For Kids’ on Aug. 13, and sent firefighters to load donations into the trucks. They came with goodies to hand out to the kids.
“They’re absolutely wonderful,” she said. “And so supportive of us.”