Tangent Fire Sponsors 1st Annual 'Shop with a Firefighter'

Funding for this project has been provided by generous donations to the volunteers, and fund raisers held by the volunteers.

Information and photos: Dennis Weis Photographer/Firefighter-Tangent Fire Dept.

(TANGENT, Ore.) - Firefighters of Tangent Fire and Rescue sponsored its 1st annual “Shop with a Firefighter” program. Firefighters within the Fire Department volunteered their time to go shopping with two families, which were not going to have much of a Christmas, due to unfortunate financial circumstances.

Erich Schoen with Tangent Fire and Rescue says the families were taken Christmas shopping at the local Target store in Albany. The participating families were pre-screened by a local agency to insure eligibility. Each family had approximately $400 dollars to spend on each other.

Each child was escorted with a firefighter and was able to go buy toys and clothing items with there money. Each family was also given a Christmas dinner of Ham, and Turkey with all side dishes included.

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Funding for this project has been provided by generous donations to the volunteers, and fund raisers held by the volunteers, Schoen said.

One of the most notorious fund raisers is the “Fireman’s Breakfast” held every September during the Tangent Harvest Festival.

The “Shop with a Firefighter” program creates a wonderful opportunity to interact with, and build positive relationships with the children and community members. Hopefully with this kind of positive interaction, it can make a difference in the child’s life that they will never forget.