This is such a great example of the true One Simpsonville spirit. Mr. Stephens of Modern Woodmen of America contacted me early this year about ways in which his organization might partner with the city. I spent some time learning about him and his organization and talking with Ms. Tiffany Cherry, our Community Relations Specialist, Mr. David
Dyrhaug, our City Administrator, and Mayor Curtis. Then, in one of our budget workshops, we heard about a Fire Department “want:” a fire safety house (read more here). This was something that we obviously were not going to be able to budget for, given our vast number of critical needs. But it sounded like an excellent opportunity to partner with an organization like Modern Woodmen. So we took the idea to Mr. Stephens, who did some research, and determined that he had a matching funds program that we could take advantage of for this project. And so we took it to Council, who (after some initial objections) unanimously voted to move forward on the project. Once approved, the work began to plan a special fundraising event to raise our match to obtain these funds. But here’s the really wonderful part: once the public heard about our efforts to fund fire safety education through private partnerships, people started calling to find out how they could help. Individual citizens wanted to know where to send money. Business owners wanted to know how they could help raise awareness. Bethel Trails Farm, a local business that operates at our Simpsonville Farmer’s Market, offered to host a fundraising event at their farm—and they wanted to donate a whole pig to entice people to come and give. And it worked. We raised over $1,800.00 that night. But that’s not all, the Farmer’s Market itself offered a significant monetary donation AND volunteered to raise money over the course of the summer, keeping a “Loot for the Boot” collection boot and encouraging customers to donate. At the end of the summer, they’ll donate it all to the fund. And finally, this October, we’ll be holding a Stop, Drop, and Run 5K (stay tuned for more details) to wrap up our fundraising efforts. This event is made possible through a number sponsorships from businesses and citizens. This whole project illustrates the One Simpsonville spirit very clearly. In this venture, we have truly united our city—its citizens, its businesses, and its government—working together for continuous improvement.  Plus, we now have a partnership with Modern Woodmen of America that we expect to last well beyond this project.