Last year, community donations, largely through donation boxes at local businesses and generous donations by local businesses helped the Shannon County First Responders purchase radios, radio batteries, defibrillator pads, blood pressure kits, oxygen regulators, equipment bags for new responders and high visibility gear to keep responders safe in the dark at traffic accidents. None of the donation money goes for salaries, food or any personal supplies for individual volunteers, everything is used to serve the community.
Several people and organizations donated equipment. “Care packages” selected from their Amazon “wish list” were provided by John and Cory Wick with a value of $1,450 and Donald Yordy with a value of $50. The Shannon County Ambulance Board donated approximately $5,000 worth of new, and much needed, radio equipment. An out of state donation came from Monroe County Hospital in Albia, Iowa, which donated several surplus medical gear bags and other equipment, worth at least a thousand dollars. Some of their ER nurses float every year and were impressed watching the first responders’ work on a drowning.
Many local businesses donated money which could be used for a variety of needs, most especially the purchase of six automated external defibrillators or AEDs, which can sometimes save the live of a heart attack victim. AEDs cost about two thousand dollars each. These included an anonymous donation of $3,000 and another of $200, along with six thousand dollars from the Jacks Fork Community Foundation, one thousand from the Security Bank of the Ozarks, five hundred from Yarber Mortuary, four hundred from Birch Creek Timber Products, two hundred from Lexi’s Pharmacy and a hundred dollars from Cold Water Ranch.
Many local individuals also made generous donations including Suellen and Dr Jon Roberts, Wanda Pummill, Paul and Donna Stoffa, Mark and Honda Janak, Donna Shacklett, Walter Randolph, Alice Ferguson and Michael Svalson. About six hundred dollars was obtained from loose change dropped in donation boxes around the county. Every penny was put to good use protecting the community.
These donations totaled $7,500 in direct equipment and $13,680 in monetary donations in 2023. “We can’t tell you how grateful we are to the community,” said Shannon County First Responders president Allen Ford. “Since we are funded entirely by donations, this has helped a lot, especially in equipping all the new first responders who have stepped up to volunteer this year. It really shows the spirit of the Shannon County community. We’d also like to thank Dr Roberts who worked very hard soliciting donations from local businesses. We couldn’t have done it without his hard work and dedication to the First Responders.”
The mission of the Shannon County First Responders is to support local ambulance services by arriving first and providing immediate first aid and medical support as needed until the ambulance arrives. All first responders are unpaid volunteers, on call twenty four hours a day. All First Responders are trained to at least the Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) level, and some are Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and nurses. The First Responders do not receive any funding from insurance, medical bills or fire dues; they are entirely funded by your donations. To learn more about the Shannon County First Responders, check out their Facebook page. If you have medical training and would like to join, please send a message through the page.
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