Members of the Fort Gratiot Fire Department are used to doing what needs to be done in an emergency. When the emergency was local kids going without toys and essentials for Christmas, they stepped up to solve the problem.
This is the second year that Fort Gratiot Township received a grant from the Walmart Foundation to fund “Shop with a Hero”. This year’s effort helped 27 students who attend the township elementary schools: Keewahdin and Thomas Edison.
In a normal year, the students would have gathered with the firefighters at the Fort Gratiot Walmart and shopped alongside them, but this is not a normal year, and a group shopping trip was not an option. Instead, the department got wish lists from the kids’ parents and did the shopping for them.
Some parents picked up the gifts from the Fort Gratiot Township office while some were delivered by the department in a fire truck. Sharon Wilton, Community Development Director for Fort Gratiot, said that they are thankful to Walmart and the Fort Gratiot Fire Department for making a difference during this holiday season.
The Walmart Foundation gives over $1 billion in charitable contributions each year.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
