Freehold First Aid Receives Matching Donation from Township Committee

Before getting down to business at the Tuesday night Freehold Township Committee meeting, the committee took some time to recognize the Freehold First Aid Squad and presented them with a matching fundraiser check.

At many Freehold Township Committee meetings, members of the First Aid Squad would report to the committee how many calls they went on each month. After hearing about the many calls volunteers went on, Committeeman Bob McGirr decided to help the squad, by pledging to match all donations to the squad up to $5,000.

 “Sometimes we take things for granted, but I wanted the First Aid Squad to know that as a committee, and as a community, we don’t take them for granted and we appreciate everything that they do,” said McGirr. “My dad always said that it was better to give than receive, and so in his spirit and with that in mind, it is my pleasure to give to you a check for $5,000 that is a matching fund drive that started a number of months ago. On behalf of my colleagues on the committee, myself, and all the residents of Freehold Township we truly truly appreciate what you do for our community."

McGirr’s matching donation will help the First Aid Squad reach their fundraising goal so they can buy equipment and give their volunteers better training. The First Aid Squad has been trying to raise funds for seven months, but is still a decent bit away from attaining their goal.

“We started our fund drive in June, I sent out 11,000 letters. From 11,000 letters we had a return of 1,076 letters, that means 11% returned those envelops – the poorest the squad had in our 70 years,” said First Aid Squad trustee Bill Madden. “Thank god the second reminder made people start responding, as of last week we have brought in just about $100,000 but we set a goal of $150,000 so this $5,000 matching donation is very important. I just want to thank everyone in Freehold Borough and Freehold Township who has supported us; we need that so we can continue doing what we are doing. We definitely need the support."

Donations to the Freehold First Aid Squad can still be made. Visit the their website for more information on how you can help support them.