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Los Angeles County firefighters and other emergency responders are there to protect the community around the clock in an emergency situation. Not surprisingly, their good natured role as protectors of life and property is also visibly evident during non-emergency situations. We call this “Hometown Attentiveness” – our brand of giving back. On just about any given day, firefighters can be found flipping pancakes, waiting tables, building playhouses to auction or doing just about any good deed to raise funds for community level charities. They love to help.

As an entire organization, Fire Department employees also raise money throughout the year for its formally recognized charities. Two of them – the March of Dimes and the County Employee Charitable Giving Campaign – are in support of the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors-approved charities. Officially recognized, these charitable campaigns are actively promoted by the County to all 95,000 County employees working in 37 different departments. The remaining two – the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation and the annual Lupus Race for Life – are also strongly supported by law enforcement and fire service agencies throughout the region.

March of Dimes

Each spring, Fire Department employees kick off the annual March of Dimes Campaign to help support this world renowned charity whose mission is to fight birth defects. In recent years, the March of Dimes has pledged to raise $75 million nationwide to support research into the causes of premature birth, considered the number one cause of newborn mortality. In 2005, Fire Department employees raised over $9,400 toward the County-wide campaign. For the past six years, the cornerstone event of the annual campaign has been the March of Dimes Barbecue and Vendor Day, held at the Department’s Los Angeles “LAO” Training Center. Each year it is a sell-out event, as employees pay a mere $10 for a taste-tempting barbecued steak, homemade chili, cornbread and other treats. Generously sponsored by the Commerce Casino, Sysco, Marie Callenders Restaurants, Fire Department vendors and others, the event costs are almost entirely underwritten, netting a large donation for the March of Dimes. While enjoying lunch, they are also treated to an opportunity to buy Fire Department apparel, gift items and official gear – or win something in the vendor-sponsored raffle!

Employees also participate in the “Blue Jeans for Babies” campaign fundraiser, in which employees purchase the County’s official March of Dimes campaign t-shirt and are given permission to wear the t-shirt – along with a casual pair of blue jeans – to work on Mondays and Fridays each week during the campaign. Kicked off during the 2005 campaign, it was a hit and plans are already underway to double or triple t-shirt sales in 2006!

A tradition for the past few years, employees also try their luck at winning a fully-loaded Toyota SUV by purchasing raffle tickets from the statewide Toyota Opportunity Drawing. Last year, more than $9,000 was raised from this fundraiser alone. Ocean Lifeguard Olivier O’Connell took the top sales slot, raising more than $2,000 from Lifeguard Division members. Although a Fire Department employee has not won the vehicle yet for the past three years since we began participating in this fundraiser, each year the “drum roll” begins as tickets are sold throughout all of the battalions, lifeguard sections and other administrative sites. If you haven’t guessed by now, firefighters (and everyone else) love vehicles!

County Employee Charitable Giving Campaign

Each year, Fire Department employees also support the County Employee Charitable Giving Campaign to benefit five Board-approved fund distribution agencies (FDAs) in the Los Angeles area, including United Way, Brotherhood Crusade, United Latino Fund, Asian Pacific Community Fund and Earth Share of California. In 2004, County employees generously raised more than $1.6 million to support these health and human service agencies that provide vital services to needy families throughout the County. To participate, employees are asked to contribute a minimum of $2 per month from their paychecks through an automated payroll deduction plan. More than 500 Fire Department employees are already actively participating in this campaign. Other special fundraisers are planned each year to help raise “wraparound” funding, which is collected and distributed among the five designated fund distribution agencies listed above.

Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation

Each year, County firefighters and fire dispatchers team up with other fire service agencies throughout Southern California in raising tens of thousands of dollars to benefit the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. The foundation derived its name and inspiration from eight-year-old Alisa Ann Ruch, who was fatally burned in a common backyard barbecue accident. Founded in 1971, the Burn Foundation works in partnership with firefighters, educators, and burn care professionals to develop innovative programs and services.

There are 1.25 million burn injuries each year in the United States. In California alone, each year 10,000 people are burned severely enough to require medical attention; 4,500 are children. Recognizing that prevention education is essential to avoid the agony of burn injuries, the Burn Foundation has produced a variety of innovative prevention materials and programs that are distributed throughout California and all over the world. The Burn Foundation's survivor assistance programs are designed to relieve emotional suffering, create opportunities for socializing, and help build the skills necessary to cope in a society that highly values physical appearance.

Annual fundraising efforts culminate in the “Burn Relay,” a caravan parade of fire engines and ladder trucks as they wind their way through participating cities to collect fundraising checks, escorted by the California Highway Patrol. Beginning in Santa Monica, the caravan concludes with a party at the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s headquarters training center.

Please help us support the Burn Foundation by visiting their website at www.aarbf.org, or calling their Southern California office at (818) 848-0223 to see how you can help.

Lupus Race for Life

For the past three years, Fire Department employees have participated in Lupus International’s “Lupus Race for Life,” a 5k/10k Walk/Run to benefit people suffering from lupus. “Lupus” is the Latin word for wolf, and refers to the severe rash on the face of patients that looks like animal bites. The term “lupus” is now more often used for a disease that affects the entire body called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, there are several forms of lupus besides SLE, including chronic cutaneous (discoid) lupus that does not affect other organs, drug-induced lupus that completely goes away when the offending drug is removed, neonatal lupus that affects newborns, and a relatively mild disease called subacute cutaneous lupus syndrome.

Each October, firefighters and law enforcement officers throughout Southern California help Lupus International organize the Walk/Run event and promote participation from their agencies. For more information about how you can help us support Lupus International, visit their website at www.lupusca.org, or call their Irvine office toll free at 1-888-532-2322.