Dear Community Members.

The officers and members of the Churchville Volunteer Fire Department Inc., would like to share our thoughts and feelings regarding recent events.

The tragedies of September 11 have left an indelible impression on the souls and psyches of everyone in this country. The images will be forever etched in our minds; the grief, horror and profound sense of loss burned into our hearts. The ferocity of the acts, the calculated coldness of the attacks and the total disregard for human life demonstrated by the individuals responsible, is beyond anything ever experienced by this country. Add to this the tragic loss of hundreds of fire, police and EMS personnel attempting rescue operations and the senselessness of the attacks grows beyond comprehension. We sincerely offer our thoughts, our prayers and our deepest concerns to the victims, their families and friends.

While these attacks occurred hundreds of miles from our quiet homes, the shock is brought "closer to home" with the loss of hundreds of emergency personnel; our "brothers and sisters." Their unselfish desire to aid those in need and their heroic dedication to duty unwittingly led them on a collision course with their untimely deaths. While we all understand that we can face danger in the performance of our duties, such a sizable loss of life is numbing to our senses and utterly unnecessary. This event has become a strengthening and uniting catalyst among this country's citizens.

The nature of this tragedy brought a rapid activation of New York State Emergency plans. The outpouring of aid from New York and surrounding states resulted in a surplus of manpower and equipment at ground zero. While we as an emergency services organization will remain on "stand-by status" for an indefinite period, the immediate sense of needing to help our "brothers and sisters" remained unsated within us. It was through this urgent need to help in some manner, that the boot drive of Thursday, September 20 was conceived. This operation gave all emergency services personnel in our area an opportunity to help in the aftermath of the tragedies.

As our volunteers began accepting donations at 7 a.m. that morning, it immediately became clear that most people felt the same deep loss and shared the desire to help in some way. The generosity of the donations was astounding, the public opinion was unified and even the "thank yous" directed at us, took on a special meaning. It is apparent that this unity has helped all of us deal with the tragedies and it is this unity that will carry us forward.

We would like to express our sincere and heartfelt thanks to the caring, considerate, loving and generous individuals who contributed freely and deeply to help the families of the fallen emergency workers in New York City. Our modest expectations were surpassed by noon and the generosity of the community was wonderfully apparent as we reached the $7,000 mark by 7 p.m. This represents donations at the rate of $10 per minute. It is for this generosity that we offer a sincere thank you to the community.

Thank you, God Bless you and God Bless America.

Officers and Members
Churchville Volunteer Fire Department