From staff reports
Titusville Moose Family Center No. 84 honored emergency first responders with a dinner and donations that totaled $32,000.
The chicken-and-biscuits dinner was held Friday at the Moose lodge, where checks for $2,000 were presented to the following first responders:
– Titusville Police Department
– Fire departments in Titusville, Pleasantville, Cherrytree Township, Hydetown, Champmanville, Townville, Centerville, Bloomfield, Spartansburg and Grand Valley
– Emergycare, Townville, Centerville, Spartansburg and Grand Valley ambulance services
“Each department received a check for $2,000 to help offset the cost of running their departments,” said Jeremy W. Brandon, prelate of the Moose family center.
“We put no stipulations on what they can purchase with the money,” he said. “We know what it’s like to run a fire department or an ambulance service. We are not trying to fund their services; we are simply hopefully easing their situation with a donation,” Brandon said.
Tommy Mooses also were distributed to those in attendance. The stuffed moose animal is used by first responders to help hurt or scared children they encounter while on the job.
Each year, since the first responders program was started in 2013, the amount of money donated has increased, Brandon noted.
In 2013, the lodge provided $9,500 to first responders. By 2016, that amount jumped to $30,000.
