How Amador students can give back to our first responders working on the holidays

Many people in our community are fortunate enough to be able to spend time with their families and take time off to enjoy the holidays. However, we often take for granted the hardworking first-responders that are relied on to keep our community safe, especially during the holiday season.

A big part of any community is those who serve to protect it, whether it’s saving a family from a house fire, attending to an accident, or rushing an injured civilian to critical care, first responders are an important part of society and often put their lives on the line to save others.

From paramedics to firefighters to police officers and soldiers, these first responders are unable to spend quality family time with their loved ones as they are needed on duty. Thankfully, there are ways we at Amador can give back to these people working to keep us safe.

The San Jose firefighters work hard to keep our community safe during the holidays and everyday, and these men put their lives on the line for our safety.

Simple gestures to reach out to our troops are greatly appreciated, many are stationed across the world and for long periods of time and are unable to contact their family or friends often.
“Students can help by sending texts or letters to those on duty or in service because when they get off of shift they can see that people care. Also reaching out to their families is really meaningful because it can raise morale and help families or soldiers cope with separation,” said Army soldier Albina McIntosh.

 

 

 

a way of giving back to the community and first responders and help fundraise for those victims by having a day of fun. 

— Firefighter Steve Gordon

Other options to give back are organizations such as Operation Gratitude, an organization that sends Christmas cards to first responders, those in the military, and veterans, Soldier’s Angels who send cards and stockings filled with Christmas treats to soldiers on duty, and Trees for Troops who sends Christmas trees to both soldiers and their families.

San Jose Firefighter Steve Gordon still has fun at the station with his fellow firefighters

“I haven’t experienced these organizations while in service yet, but we have had a local school give us gifts and make us dinner in November and on Christmas, and it spreads holiday cheer and boosted the spirits of all the soldiers,” said McIntosh.

On a more local level, students can support our community first responders by carrying out small acts of kindness. From baking cookies for the station to donating to causes such as the California Fire Foundation, there are many ways to show our campus’s gratitude to the fire department’s work.

“The support we’ve been shown for the gratitude of our line of work is really heartwarming. Stopping by the firehouse to say thank you for working during the holidays and being away from our family is showing support that there are people thinking about us while you’re with your family and we are unable to be,” said Firefighter, Bryan Hodges.

Overall, there are many different ways to give back to those who work during the holidays. From reaching out to troops overseas to helping those in their own towns, students can make a real difference for these workers as they dedicate themselves to keep us safe.

The Fire department also returns the favor and contributes to a lot of different organizations to help the community.

 

Whether it is from first responders, to the homeless, or to animal shelters, the community can help out in many ways. Please also check out our story on helping out the less fortunate in our community!