JCF AWARDS $200,000 IN GRANTS TO LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS
June 1, 2020
The students of the Josephine County Foundation (JCF), a local student-led 501c3 non-profit, are pleased to announce that Project SAFE (Students Acquiring Firefighter Equipment) is awarding $200,000 in grants to ten small and mostly rural volunteer fire agencies in Josephine and Jackson Counties, Oregon. These grants provide equipment to help keep our firefighters and communities safe during fires, medical, and rescue emergencies.
These grants were made possible by $100,000 being raised in the community by JCF students and our fire departments. The total raised was matched dollar-for-dollar by an anonymous donor who is donating $500,000 ($100,000 year), if the community can match that amount. Our fire departments raised $65,000 in their local service areas and the students raised $35,000 from the following donors contributing $5,000 or more: Arthur Anderson, Frank Ault, Arthur R. Dubs Foundation, Chaney Family Foundation, Pacific Power, San Diego Foundation, and Steve Splean.
“This is year 2 of Project SAFE (Students Acquiring Firefighter Equipment) to help keep our firefighters safe and to provide superior fire, medical, and rescue services to citizens of our two-county region,” said Keely Marchand, JCF Student President. “Our goal is to raise $1 million, including the $500,000 match, so our region is prepared and does not have to experience wildfires like those in 2017 and 2018, with the loss of much of our wilderness, months of our skies full of heavy smoke, and the impact on our tourism economy,” said Marchand.
The fire agencies receiving 2020 JCF Fire SAFE grants include:
- Applegate Valley Fire District 9
- Butte Falls Volunteer Fire Department
- Colestin Rural Fire District
- Evans Valley Fire District #6
- Greensprings Rural Fire District
- Illinois Valley Fire District
- Jacksonville City Fire Department
- Prospect Rural Fire Protection District
- Rogue River Fire District #1
- Wolf Creek Rural Fire Protection District
2020 Fire Dept. Grants
