Peoria Fire Dept. wants to bring truckloads of school supplies to kids, teachers

Bobby Anderson and Chanel Hargrave-Murry, members of the Tri-County Urban League, along with Peoria Firefighter Scott Howard, pose with receipts totaling over $1,000 in school supplies.(WEEK)
Published: Jun. 30, 2022 at 5:37 PM CDT

PEORIA (25 News Now) - Firetrucks crowded the entrance to the Walmart on University, but it wasn’t because there was an active fire.

Inside, firefighters, members of the Afro American Firefighters Association and the Tri County Urban League were making a run on the school supply aisles, filling three carts full of notebooks, markers, crayons and more.

It’s a group effort, Peoria Interim Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger said, but the department specifically wanted to recognize the Afro American Firefighters working with the Tri County Urban League to make the school supply drive happen. For Sollberger it’s a chance to help families in the community, and for Afro Firefighter Association Secretary and PFD hoseman Scott Howard it’s a chance to give back to the teachers who supported him along the way.

“It feels incredible because it’s like you’re coming full circle,” Howard said. “Teachers are so greatly valued but they’re so undervalued at the same time. Realistically, even you and I wouldn’t be the people we are today without them.”

The supplies totaled to over $1,000. The department will continue to collect donations throughout July in front of the University Street Walmart, on July 9, 17, and 24. At the end of the month, they will pack the supplies into bags to give away to students at the Tri County Urban League building on July 30. They hope to fill at least 150 bags of supplies and have some left over to give to teachers who sometimes buy supplies out of their own pocket.

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