Published: 1/5/2021 3:21:49 PM
Modified: 1/5/2021 3:21:39 PM
COLRAIN — Hillside Pizza is donating money to the Colrain Firefighters’ Association for each gift card the association sells in a special fundraiser this winter. The last day to buy one is Saturday.
The Colrain Firefighters’ Association raises money to support the town Fire Department, often by buying specialized equipment that the town can’t afford, explained Jim Martin, a lieutenant in the Fire Department and a member of the association. The association has also helped firefighters with expensive medical bills or other personal financial difficulties, Martin said.
This year, almost all the Corain Firefighters’ Association’s usual fundraisers had to be canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2020, the year’s fundraising was about a third of what the association would normally raise, Martin said.
“It’s not been a good year at all for us,” he said.
This fundraiser with Hillside Pizza is not typically held by the firefighters’ association, but is being organized partly to make up for some of the fundraising that couldn’t happen in 2020.
Association members are selling gift cards to Hillside Pizza for $25 each. When customers pay at Hillside Pizza using one of these gift cards, the restaurant will donate a portion of the profit from that sale to the Colrain Firefighters’ Association.
The gift cards are valid at all three of Hillside Pizza’s locations, in Bernardston, Deerfield and Hadley.
“We were trying to find something different,” Martin said of the idea. “We don’t have to come into contact with the public, and yet we’re still making some money for our association.”
Gift cards are for sale through the rest of the week. They can be bought at the Colrain Fire Station at 51 Main Road on Wednesday between 6 and 7 p.m., Thursday between 1 and 4 p.m., and Saturday between 7 and 8 p.m.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.