If there's one thing that fire crews appreciate more than food, it's socks.
A group of volunteers in Ashcroft found that out when they started providing snacks for firefighters who are working the north end of the massive Shetland Creek wildfire. What began as a single delivery of fresh fruit turned into a huge community effort, with volunteers making mountains of sandwiches, donations of cash and food, and handwritten messages of support on every lunch bag.
And socks. Lots and lots of socks.
It began on July 21, when Sherri McKinlay of Ashcroft's B.O.S.S. Enrichment Centre took some fruit out to the fire crew stationed just off Highway 1 about 10 kilometres from Ashcroft.
"She thought they might want something different, and it was so well-received," says volunteer Tova White. "They loved it, and some of them said they hadn't eaten at all the day before until they went to dinner."
White mentioned this to her husband Josh, the Ashcroft Fire Rescue chief. He explained that while the BC Wildfire Service crews had food during the day, some of the others 鈥� such as structure protection personnel 鈥� didn't.
"Sherri and I looked at each other and said we had to do something," says White. "And that's how the lunches started."
As is often the way in small towns, it didn't take long to get things going. McKinlay talked to The Rev. Linda Lagroix at St. Alban's Anglican Church in Ashcroft, who rallied the volunteers who provide the weekly Soup's On by-donation lunch at the church. McKinlay put out a call for donations, and people immediately stepped up.
Cash donations came in. Ashcroft IDA Pharmacy donated, and Ashcroft Safety Mart gave them enough ham for a day's-worth of sandwiches (more than 120 in all). Ashcroft Chevron/KFC donated hundreds of paper bags and let the volunteers use their fridge space. Blackwell Dairy donated chocolate milk, and the Ashcroft Bakery donated bread. Barnes Harley-Davidson in Kamloops donated Gatorade, water, beef jerky, and chips. One local resident donated beef to be roasted and used for sandwiches, and another dropped off 30 eggs.
The volunteers weren't sure what to do with the eggs, until Safety Mart donated three boxes of bananas. When life hands you eggs and bananas, you make banana bread, which a volunteer did, making 16 loaves to join the other fresh-baked treats that were brought in.
They joined the many other food items that were donated or purchased. When the Journal visited the volunteers on July 26, the lunch bags were being filled with two sandwiches each, fresh fruit, baked goods, granola bars, jerky, trail mix, juice boxes, chips, hydrating drink powder, and chewing gum. Also available for the firefighters were some items that had been specially requested, including Advil, cough drops, and eyedrops.
"We put the requests on social media," says White. "It doesn't take long for someone to see it and say 'I'll bring some.'"
And what about the socks?
"On July 23, when we delivered the lunches, one of the firefighters from Logan Lake said he needed a pair of socks," explains White. "So we got some for him, and he was so happy to see them."
When firefighters are told to get ready to deploy, they can only bring so much clothing with them, and the opportunities to do laundry are limited. The fire crews were going through socks faster than they could wash them, and McKinlay started #socksforfirefighters to get the word out.
The word got out, and socks started pouring in. "It just took on a life of its own," says White. "People were buying them from Costco, from Fields, which gave a discount. The Health Care Auxiliary thrift store donated washed, gently-used socks."
The result was that every bag, every day, contains a pair of socks in addition to the food and beverages. Volunteers have been preparing up to 70 bags a day for a week, and White says the firefighters are very appreciative.
"They're so happy. They're thrilled to see fresh fruit, socks, eyedrops, homemade baked goods."
Each bag is adorned with a handwritten message, expressing thanks for all that the firefighters are doing. The adult volunteers 鈥� nearly 20 each day 鈥� write them, and some local children have also come in to help out with the messages. McKinlay says they'll continue to provide the lunches (and socks) for as long as there's a need.
"We'll re-assess and see what we need to do. It's blown up. It's insane how much #socksforfirefighters took off.
"And it's just amazing to see so many people come together. I said to Tova at the start 'It might just be you and me.' Who would have thought it would turn into such an outpouring of support?"
