Bend Fire’s ‘Santa Express’ reports great results

Bend Fire Department and the Salvation Army have completed this year’s Santa Express. This year’s Santa Express food drive was a HUGE success for the community. Even with hard economic times fallen upon the region, the citizens of Bend stepped forward to help in anyway they could this holiday season.

TOTALS: 3,200 pounds of food and hundreds of pieces of clothing and toys were collected.

This year the Salvation Army will provide food, clothing and toys to over 1,100 families in the Bend area alone! That’s nearly 4,000 people in Bend that are being served by the Salvation Army this year.

2014 Highlights:

– Newcomers of Bend – this community organization delivered enough toys for nearly 200 kids at their annually Christmas luncheon. This is the 4th year of their participation and they have provided toys for nearly a thousand kids over the years.

– Salvation Army welcomed a new commander, Lieutenant Jeremy Aird. Lt Aird was blown away at the huge community support found here in Bend!!

– Volunteers – besides all the volunteers from Bend Fire Department that help make Santa Express a huge success, we were joined by groups of Girl Scouts, 4H’ers and Bend High School leadership students.

These donations will help fill food boxes to feed families this holiday season. The coats and clothing also go to those families in need this holiday season for warm clothing throughout the winter. The toys are for those children that wouldn’t get any thing this year for Christmas if it wasn’t for The Salvation Army and their charity. Though Santa Express is done for the year, donation can always be dropped off at the Salvation Army at 515 NE Dekalb Ave throughout the year.

The following sponsors helped make Santa Express possible:
10 Barrel Brewing Abby’s Pizza Bend Fire Fighters Association
Bend Memorial Clinic Cibellis Pizza Ed Wyse Beauty Supply
Ernie Gilpin Goulart Chiropractic Hot Rock Pizza
Izzy’s Pizza Newcomers of Bend Little Pizza Paradise
Local Slice Pizza Pappy’s Pizza Parlor Pizza Hut
Pizza Mondo Round Table Pizza Starbucks
Wholesale Sports

And thank you to all the media that helped spread the word to the community
Again the Bend Fire Department would like to thank everyone that came out and helped us make the holidays a little brighter for so many this holiday season!