Pa. fire company seeks online votes for grant

By Amber South
Public Opinion

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — The community can vote online to help Franklin Fire Company win money from a nationwide contest and purchase an electronic message board to serve the community.

The fire company is vying for a $25,000 grant through the Pepsi Refresh Project, according to Kenny North, grant writer for the fire company. The Refresh Project debuted in February and gives away $1.3 million a month to help individuals, small groups, small businesses and organizations get funding for a project that will help the community, according to the Pepsi website.

"It's a way people can help us without costing them anything," North said.

To receive the grant, the fire company must get enough online votes by May 31 to rank among the top 10 in the $25,000 division. The company is in a pool of hundreds.

"Anybody who is computer literate can vote," North said, referring to the simplicity of the voting system.

To vote for the fire company's project, go to http://www.refresheverything.com/station4. The page provides an explanation of the fire company, an outline of the project, a list of things the grant will help fund, a graphic of the electronic message board and a link to vote. To view and vote on other projects, visit http://www.refresheverything.com.

North said the electronic message board would help the station and the community alike.

"We will put up messages about severe weather, evacuations, special events ... road detours, construction and other things," he said.

According to North, the fire company currently has a static message board that requires someone to manually create a message with single-letter cards.

"The wind blows it around and messages get messed up," North said. This winter was influential in creating the idea for an electronic board as well, North said, because the weeks of severe weather and deep snow made it nearly impossible to change the messages.

Jim Hull, president of the fire company, came up with the idea to get a new sign, but the fire company does not use its budgeted funds to buy non-essential items.

Applying for the grant required an explanation of the intended project and a description of the fire company and how it's normally funded, North said. Information on the area's population and how many people would be affected was also required. After submitting the proposal to Pepsi, the fire company had to wait for approval before voting could begin on May 1.

The Pepsi project accepts about 1,000 ideas for voting every month. Four grant amounts are available: $5,000, $25,000, $50,000 and $250,000. Ten ideas are chosen to receive money for all tiers except $250,000, in which two winners are chosen. The next top 50 ideas in each division are then carried over to the next voting cycle.

"We want to get it done this month," North said.

The fire company is up against hundreds of other projects in the $25,000 division, neighborhood category, and few similarities are shared between them.

The project that is currently in first place in the division involves renovating an amphitheater to benefit school field trips. Other projects in various topic categories include educating children and parents about gardening to help foster self-esteem and leadership, purchasing concussion-proof helmets for a youth football league, creating a resource center for parents of children with special needs and building outdoor cages for wildlife at a rehabilitation program.

A $25,000 grant winner from March was a project creating a network with cell phones and the Internet to help circulate the work of young artists, according to the website.

The fire company's idea is currently ranked 214th.

For more information, visit http://www.sta4.com.