PEORIA, Ill. – For the fourth straight year, Peoria Firefighters are spending part of their summer gathering school supplies.
The department launched its annual Fill The Fire Truck campaign on Wednesday, which provides backpacks, laptops, and supplies to students and teachers in need.
The program was launched by firefighter Scott Howard, a Peoria-native who knows what it’s like to not have all the tools a student needs to succeed.
“We grew up food insecure in my house and my parents went from paycheck to paycheck to provide for us. And I had a lot of teachers at that time that came out of their own pockets, even though they weren’t making a lot of money, to buy school supplies for me and my fellow students,” Howard said.
Howard says some of the items that are in great demand include notebooks, colored pencils, markers, and crayons. He says the department could also look into targeted donation drives throughout the school year to keep supplies full.
Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger says it’s gratifying to see the kids enjoy the backpacks.
“To see the backpacks that we know that we hand out, that’s one thing. But then to see the level of joy as they’re skipping down the hallway, it really warms your heart,” Sollberger said.
The department says the goal this year is to hand out around 1,200 fully loaded backpacks.
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