OUR VIEW ~ Firefighters call for help
Call it a symptom of the age we live in or maybe it’s just that nobody has time to give away.
Greene and Columbia counties live and die by volunteers, but it seems that there aren’t enough to go around. Retired people do what they can and many high school students are all about giving back.
It’s the age group in between — young people with small children, holding down two or more jobs to support families — that simply cannot find time to donate.
One vitally important group of volunteers suffers from this deficit — the unpaid firefighters in every community in both counties who might be called upon at any hour of the day or night to put their lives on the line to save our lives and property.
Many volunteer fire departments are experiencing the need to recruit and retain more members.
The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York offers one answer.
The association has announced an Oct. 28 application deadline for 2016 spring semester tuition reimbursement through its Higher Education Learning Plan, or HELP. This statewide community college tuition reimbursement program is geared to recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters.
According to the association, any active volunteer firefighter in good standing, and who hasn’t already achieved a college degree, is eligible for up to 100 percent tuition reimbursement. The reimbursement is in exchange for maintaining good grades and fulfilling service requirements in one of New York’s volunteer fire companies.
Eligible student-volunteers must maintain acceptable levels of training and volunteer activity while attending school, fulfill a service requirement after they complete their course of study and they must attend a chartered community college.
We think the association’s plan is only one part of a solution that must contain many facets, but an offer of full two-year college tuition reimbursement is a strong incentive for students to remain active firefighters and a persuasive method of bringing new volunteers into the fold.