Boynton Beach, FL – As the whole world rises to a new level of global cooperation in the tsunami relief effort, it becomes impossible to view the devastation or to contemplate the future of those countries affected without scouring your mind for some way, any possible way, you can find to help our fellow world citizens. We think of the massive loss of life, broken down so individually by the rows of pictures strewn along the miles of makeshift signboards.
“Have you seen my father?” “I am 3 years old. I can’t find my mommy, my daddy, or my brother.” “Wife is missing…please help.” Utterly wrenching to the human spirit. The children – what will happen to those children? Who is going to go get them and take them home? The answer to those questions has been sickening.
Boynton Beach firefighters, many of who became new, first-time parents in 2004, were climbing out of their boots to bring a brighter sense of hope to those kids and all whose hearts ache for their devastating dilemma. In the very best tradition of the fire rescue service, the men and women of Boynton Beach Fire Rescue offered their boots at local intersections and raised more than $20,000 for “Save the Children” charities (www.savethechildren.org).
Lieutenant Phil Oxendine, the organizer for this event and the department’s annual “MDA Fill the Boot” campaign for Jerry’s Kids, says, “We all need to do something to help in a tragedy of this magnitude. It’s on a scale that we will probably never see again in our lifetime. Boynton Beach Fire Rescue is so committed to helping children here at home, it only makes sense that we reach out to our children around the world. We want to see them cared for by an organization that will keep them safe, and Save the Children will see that they truly get the funds that we raise. We’re grateful for everybody’s help!”
