Fire department fundraiser with rain 

By Kristena Schutt-Moore

Fire Department Station 2 in Highlands Grove and Station 4 in Wilberforce, two of the fire stations of Highlands East township have teamed up with RainBarrel.ca to hold a fundraiser.

The fire department will be selling rain barrels of all sizes through the website https://rainbarrel.ca/highlandgrovefireassociation as a way to raise funds for their individual fire department associations. Each of the five fire stations in the Highlands East fire department has an association and one of their duties is to fundraise to help support the community. In the past they have raised and donated funds towards people and families who have lost their home due to fires. But they also host community events such as dinners and barbecues that brings the community together but also helps spread up to date information on fire safety and prevention. 

Over the past two years the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible for any of the stations to host their events and fundraisers. So this year Station 2 and Station 4 are teaming up for the rain barrel fundraiser. On May 28 they will also be hosting a rain barrel truckload sale/pickup at the Highlands Grove Community Centre. It is located at 5375 Loop Road. The fire fighters will also be serving up refreshments and hosting their first barbeque in two years. 

“By fundraising and hosting community events it not only helps promote emergency preparedness, it also brings the community together in a friendly social atmosphere, which I am sure we can all agree everyone needs after the past two years! We will also be recruiting more volunteers to join our departments; it is a fun and rewarding way to give back to the community and help people when they are at their greatest need,” says Tom Borroughs, who is one of the event organizers.

There will be a variety of food grade rain barrels, composters and accessories to choose from. Each rain barrel comes with a leaf and mosquito filter basket, spigot/tap, overflow adaptor and overflow hose. There will be some rain barrels available for purchase the day of the event but the fire fighters do recommend using the website and ordering in advance, as some of the products are selling out fast.