From Arthur Sun:
On Nov 11th, We delivered 225 dollars worth of In n out gift cards and the artwork from community kids, to Fire Station 87, located in the Granada Hills region. We chose to deliver to Fire Station 87 primarily because the branches of Los Angeles Fire Department Station 70 and Station 18 declined and redirected us to give donations through the Los Angeles Fire Department donation website. However, seeking to interact with the firefighters on a more personal level, we declined and opted to phone other fire stations, resulting in us delivering our gift cards and Artwork to FireDept. Station 87.
When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by the FireDept workers and captain, who wanted us to tell us our purpose and distribute the information to all of the people in their mess hall, where they were eating lunch. From there, we proceeded to introduce ourselves, telling the firefighters about the CHEER youth group, our mid-autumn fundraiser, and the arts and donations received. The firefighters enthusiastically accepted our In n out gift cards, which were distributed evenly among the three shifts, and also accepted our artwork honoring firefighters. Many of the firefighters who saw the artwork praised it, calling it spectacular and awesome. They planned to put the artwork up on the refrigerators, where all the people from all of the shifts can see it.
Lastly, the firefighters gave us a tour of their engines, allowing us to view, climb in, and learn about the various engines they have. The first engine was their main one, which held the gear, water, helmets, and other equipment commonly associated with firefighters. It was their main engine, with the engine still being hot and fresh from a recent call. During our short time there, the firefighters, even in this difficult time, still deployed and went off to answer a 911 call. We also got to see their hazmat truck, which was a fire truck loaded with chemical tests, and other equipment to identify various hazardous materials found on the field. This can range from carcinogens to drugs to gasoline, among others. Lastly, we were able to see the truck used to break out people and rescue individuals. This truck contained sledgehammers, axes, saws, ladders, all things meant to break out and rescue individuals stuck in natural disasters, such as earthquakes and building fires.
Overall, it was a very positive experience for both groups. The firefighters expressed a large amount of appreciation and acceptance to our community donations and were incredibly grateful for both our gift card donations and the various firefighting artwork that was contributed for the mid-autumn festival. On our end, we learned a lot about the functions of firefighting and their facilities as I learned that firefighters do so much more than just simply put out fires. Oftentimes, they are the first to respond in civilian health emergencies, household fires, forest fires, and others. Considering the results of this venture, I would absolutely do this type of activity more.