Tough times hit first aid fundraising
Squad's representatives say responses are down; concerned about future
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
All is takes is 6 cents a day. Members of the Freehold First Aid and Emergency Squad say that just pennies a day from each family in Freehold Borough and Freehold Township would cover the annual budget the squad needs to maintain the organization properly and safely.

And yet, year after year, the volunteer organization cannot seem to reach its annual fundraising goal. That reality, according to squad representatives, is eating away at the organization's savings and threatening its future.

The issue was a topic of discussion at the Aug. 3 meeting of the Borough Council in Freehold Borough.

Bill Madden, a past president and current trustee of the squad, came to the meeting with Jim McAllister, another past president and past trustee, to once again say the squad needs help.

The men, who co-chair the squad's annual fundraising campaign, said they want residents of both towns to know that unless things change and more money is raised and more volunteers sign up, the squad will not be able to operate as it has for more than 60 years.

The 2008 fundraising mailers went out to residents during the first week in June. According to McAllister, only 14 percent of the individuals who were sent a mailer have responded. The mailers have raised $91,000 of the $200,000 the squad's officers were hoping to raise.

The men said that since most of the responses to the annual request for a donation are generally received by this time, the current response means trouble, not only for the squad's regular operating expenses, but for the two new ambulances that must be purchased this year. The ambulances will cost a total of about $200,000.

Last year the response rate for the first aid squad's fundraising mailers was about 23 percent, which the chairmen said was very low.

"We are answering 4,000 calls per year now," McAllister said. "We need to replace two ambulances and we need financial help and more volunteers."

He said the first aid squad's operating expenses for 2006 came to $296,000 and donations totaled $153,000 (approximately 52 percent covered by donations). In 2007, the operating expenses were $326,800 and donations totaled $144,000 (approximately 44 percent covered by donations).

McAllister said 15,700 mailers were sent to residents in Freehold Borough and in Freehold Township in June.

"Break it down and a $21 donation from each address a letter was sent to would cover our budget (i.e., a total of $329,000)," he told the council.

Madden said a second mailer will be sent out asking for a donation. He noted that it will cost $3,000 to send out the reminders and said he believes that money could be put to much better use within the organization.

He said that "unless something turns drastically different, our savings will be gone soon. … Unless we get some money, we are in trouble because without the funds, we cannot answer calls at all. We've got to do better than this."

Councilwoman Sharon Shutzer praised Madden and McAllister and noted that between them they have provided more than 80 years of volunteer service to the squad.

"They put their money where their mouths are," she said, and added, "If everyone at this meeting would tell five people about the importance of contributing to the first aid squad, maybe things would be better."

Councilman Kevin Kane said most people cannot understand what it takes to be a first aid squad member unless they have lived with one.

McAllister noted that Kane's motherin law, Fran Eckhardt, was a member of the first aid squad for many years. She was one the squad's first female members and one of its first female captains.

Councilman Marc Le Vine said people should reach deep into their wallets for the first aid squad.

"In times of tragedy they are always there for us and there's no place for them to turn when the funds drop," he said.

Le Vine offered to do what he could to help the squad raise funds.

Madden told the News Transcript that Freehold Borough contributes $14,000 in funding, plus free gas, free water, a taxfree building to house the first aid squad and workers' compensation. The borough also maintains the lawn and takes care of snow removal for the squad, which has its headquarters on Spring Street.

Madden said Freehold Township provides $35,000 to the squad, and he noted that Monmouth County also contributes annually.

To compare that level of support with other towns, Howell Township Manager Helen Schlegel said the town provides $70,000 to each of Howell's three volunteer first aid squads. The town also purchases ambulances on a rotating basis, one for each squad every four years, she said.

According to Manalapan Business Administrator Tara Lovrich, the funds provided to the Englishtown-Manalapan First Aid Squad varies from year to year and can be up to $35,000. Manalapan purchases all of the equipment used by the squad and pays the insurance for the squad's vehicles.

According to Englishtown Borough Administrator Laurie Finger, Englishtown provides $9,000 annually for the Englishtown Manalapan First Aid Squad.

Jackson Administrator Phil Del Turco said the township appropriates $20,000 annually for its volunteer first aid squad.

Freehold Borough Councilman Michael DiBenedetto may have summed up the situation the best when he said, "The first aid squad answers their calls with their hearts, but they arrive at the calls with our funds."