Firefighters, LCC pitch in to help

Fire Chief Roy Schatschneider and his firefighters as well as parishioners at Lutheran Church of the Cross will becollecting for excellent causes as they walk the parade route.

Schatschneider said the fire department members will be traveling the parade route with equipment and manpower on foot passing their buckets, taking up a special collection to once again support needs of the local Salvation Army.

"They always have a need. Last year they ended up purchasing a pallet of water that was eventually used in emergency responses to disaster and eight pagers for the volunteers that alert them to emergency incidents."

Schatschneider added the really nice part of the collection is that since the funds are designated to the Fargo Salvation Army "all proceeds get used right here in our community."

Parishioners at Lutheran Church of the Cross will also be collecting in a unique way for the second year running at West Fest. Like last year, instead of handing out candy during the parade, they will be collecting non-perishable food items for the local Great Plains Food Bank. This year they've added a new twist, collecting winter coats for the Salvation Army.

As a result of the 2011 food float collection, Pastor Joel Baranko said "We were overwhelmed by the community support from the good people of West Fargo. "The number of donations we received during the parade by far surpassed our expectations." 

 This year the Salvation Army needs help collecting winter coats and accessories and the church has decided to add these items to the Collection Float.  "We look at the recent announcement by the Salvation Army as an opportunity for us to step up to the plate within our community," said Baranko. "We already have a collection float, we'll be happy to add winter coats and accessories to our collections."

 So watch for the firefighters and the LCC Collection Float during West Fest and help them each arrive at their goals of helping the Great Plains Food Bank and the Salvation Army.