New fund, endowment provide assistance to Fillmore FD

The Fillmore Community Volunteer Fire Department (FCVFD) established both a non-endowed fund and an endowment at the Putnam County Community Foundation.

Donations to the non-endowed fund will be used to build a new firehouse. Donations to the endowment will sustain the Fire Department long-term.

"I encourage everyone to support the Fillmore Volunteer Fire Department," Elaine Peck, executive director of the Community Foundation, said. "I also want to stress that this is a volunteer fire department. These firemen and women do not get paid. They give up family time, sleep, and energy to help neighbors and many times total strangers. They volunteer to risk their lives for us."

Leaky ceilings, black mold, lack of storage space, and a cracked foundation are just a few of the problems that plague Fillmore's current headquarters.

Charles Martin, FCVFD's board president, claims that the fire department has been saving for "over 25 years" but has not raised enough to build a new firehouse.

For the past year, FCVFD has been working with Kristy Jerrell of Jerrell Consulting to apply for a Community Development Block Grant through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (IOCRA).

To fulfill a requirement for the grant application, FCVFD opened a fund with the Community Foundation. Shortly after opening the fund, FCVFD also decided to open up an endowment. This permanent, long-term endowment will ensure that the fire department has a secure source of funding for years to come.

Jerrell claimed, "If we didn't have this partnership with the Community Foundation, we wouldn't have a shot at receiving the Community Development Block Grant."

Martin stated the new endowment will be a great help to FCVFD, as they have had to pull money from their savings just to make runs. He says, "The payouts from this endowment will help cover the cost of building upkeep, to purchase new equipment, or to help cover bills each year."

The FCVFD recently learned it had received the grant from IOCRA. Jerrell said the grant is "much deserved."

A new building for FCVFD would not only benefit the Fire Department, but it would also help to improve the response time for fire and medical runs, resulting in a safer community as a whole, she noted.