Last Updated on February 23, 2024 by Luke Feldbrugge
The Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association is made up of 26 volunteer fire departments in Rockland County, New York. The Rockland Association provides support to their firefighter members, their firefighter family members and the communities within the county. Some of the programs include a scholarship program, monetary donations to assist a firefighter or their family members during a challenging time, or support for the family of a firefighter who loses their life. The Homes for Heroes Foundation grant will be used to help fund these programs for some of their volunteer firefighter members.
Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters Association Grant Check Presentation with Jay Flynn
The Homes for Heroes Foundation awarded Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association a $5,000 hero grant to provide support for their scholarship program, sick and injured firefighters, and the families of deceased firefighters.
Jay Flynn, Foundation Director with Homes for Heroes, meets with Kurt Mulligan, President of the Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association, and Homes for Heroes Real Estate Specialist, Mark Dari to briefly discuss the Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association and how the funds received from the Homes for Heroes Foundation grant will assist their initiatives.
You can watch the full interview here or read the transcript of the interview below.
Jay: Thanks for joining us today. I’m Jay Flynn, Director of the Homes for Heroes Foundation. I’m joined today by Kurt Mulligan with the Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association and Homes for Heroes real estate specialist, Mark Dari. It’s my honor to be here with you guys today.
So Kurt, as part of the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving and the Homes for Heroes Foundation, we provide grants to nonprofits whose missions are to help our heroes who are in need.
Mark and I are honored to present this $5,000 Homes for Heroes Foundation grant to the Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association. Congratulations!
Kurt: Thank you so much. We are more than overjoyed to be recognized by the Homes for Heroes Foundation. I was so happy today to be able to join you and accept this $5,000 that we will use to help our local firefighters.
Jay: That’s awesome. Speaking of that, let’s take a few minutes and talk about the Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association and the good work you do in your community. Kurt, please tell us how the association came to be and what your mission is.
Kurt: Rockland County has 26 volunteer fire departments, and the association is made up of members from each of those volunteer fire departments; each of the companies and departments as entities, join as well. And our mission is to support those firefighters. Supporting firefighters can be everything from training them to giving them a place to come together monthly for a meeting.
Some of the other things we do to support our firefighters are if one of our members is hospitalized overnight, we send them a card, an actual physical card with a monetary check inside. It is kind of a little pick me up for them after whatever experience it was that put them in the hospital overnight or extended beyond that, if it happens to be.
We also have a death benefit for our members. So if a member does pass away, we have the beneficiary and we’re able to send the beneficiary some money as well, maybe again, just to get them through that tough time that they’re going through in their life.
Jay: Absolutely. That’s awesome. So, Mark, you’re a big supporter of our heroes. And just like those with Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters Association, whether it is, volunteer, career, you know, the fire is still hot and will still kill ya and burn ya, right? So it’s the same whether career or volunteer. Those firefighter professionals are out there serving their community.
So as a Homes for Heroes real estate specialist, why is this group so important?
Mark: So I’ve been involved for the last four years. I fell in love with the program. It’s an awesome program to give back to the heroes and take care of us. I’ve known family and friends who have been volunteer firefighters since I was a kid. So I’ve always known what they’ve given up in their life; whether it’s holiday meals, or family time, in order to serve the community. So it was great to be able to get involved with a program that gives back to them
As a separate note, as a real estate agent, I do know in Rockland, a big thing people do complain about, probably like anywhere is taxes are too high. If they realized right now that we’ve got 26 volunteer departments. If we had to go to paid departments, they wouldn’t believe how much our taxes would go up. So we really need to support your volunteers. You don’t realize how much they’re giving back to you financially, and just being a hero to come out in the middle of the night to take care of you.
Jay: Definitely need to appreciate our volunteer firefighters.
So, Kurt, the Homes for Heroes Foundation is overjoyed to be able to support you guys. You mentioned a few of the programs. I know these funds are specifically going to be used for those programs that support our heroes. Do you have an example of something like that you can tell us about?
Kurt: I can even give you an example of one of our last meetings. One of our members who had been hospitalized actually stood up at the meeting and spoke about how important it was, and how much of an uplift it was, when they received that card in the mail from us. It really validated, I think, to our officers, our directors that it’s a really important thing to do. When you’re affiliated with a group, and then the group acknowledges that it may be a tough time for you. Basically with the card and monetary amount to say, “we’re here for you”. And, for that member to attend our next meeting and talk about how important it was for him. It was really uplifting for all of us.
Jay: Yeah, absolutely. Because, outside of the cost of all the doctor bills and hospital stays; food, gas, travel, back and forth, and the family members; all of those things add up. So it’s wonderful you guys are able to support them.
Kurt: Yeah. You know, maybe it’s a night out to dinner with your significant other, or your kids, after you’ve actually been in the hospital. And we help contribute toward that nice night out. We’re glad to be able to do that.
Jay: So Kurt, Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association has a website. Is that the best place for folks to go to learn more about you guys?
Kurt: Yeah. We love it if you go over to our website, we’re also on Facebook and Instagram @rcvfa. We’d love for you to follow along. We really try to promote the fire service here in Rockland County and really throughout New York state in the country. So by just sharing content, sharing important messages, keeping our members up to date through the website or social media about what we have going on and the great accomplishments that the fire service does every day
Jay: That’s awesome. So with that Mark, you had mentioned, the community really may not 100% understand the value that the volunteers bring. Right? But a lot of folks do. And if some folks, after watching this video, wanted to get behind the Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters; Association and support you guys, is there a way they can donate to you guys or get more involved?
Kurt: We have a mailing address. You can find our address on the website, and we accept donations. We have a scholarship fund every year. We’ve awarded thousands of dollars through our Steward L Gates scholarship. We do at least two scholarships every year of $1,500 dollars each, and we’ve done as many as four in a year in the past. So we definitely raise money for that. If anyone’s familiar with the area, we have a yearly convention. We host parades to get the community together, get the firefighters together, and really support the fire service.
So we’d love it if you went to our website. Check it out. We have a mailing address there. My email address is on the website or our social media as well.
Jay: Awesome! Kurt, Mark, thank you guys for taking the time to join me today. And you know, thank you for everything you guys are doing there locally to support our heroes. It’s all that team effort.
And for those of you joining us today to watch and hear more about the Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association, thank you for spending some time with us.
And most importantly, take just a second out of your day to say thank you to a hero.
Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving
Grants from the Homes for Heroes Foundation are made possible by the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving and its network of real estate and mortgage professionals. Homes for Heroes, Inc. is committed to providing savings to community heroes; such as firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, military (active duty, reserves and veterans), healthcare professionals and teachers.
To expand its Circle of Giving, Homes for Heroes, Inc., donates a portion of its earnings to the Homes for Heroes Foundation. So, every time a hero buys or sells a home using the Homes for Heroes program, they are helping other heroes across the country facing a housing crisis or who are in need of urgent financial assistance.
If you are interested in learning more about how Homes for Heroes can guide you through the home buying, selling or refinancing process AND save you an average of $3,000 after closing, simply sign up to speak with a member of their team. They will follow up with you to answer all of your questions. When you tell them you’re feeling ready to speak with their local specialists in your area about home buying, selling, or refinancing, they will connect you with their local specialists to begin the process.
Simply visit the Homes for Heroes Foundation page if you’re interested in learning more about where it has awarded recent grants to hero organizations throughout the country, how much they’ve awarded to date, and how it all works.
If you’re interested in supporting and donating to the Homes for Heroes Foundation to assist heroes in need, please visit their donation page to submit your contribution via PayPal. And, thank you for your interest and support.
Thank you for watching another Homes for Heroes Foundation grant video about the impact it is making nationally and in local hero communities, along with hero supporting nonprofits who use the grant dollars they receive to assist the heroes they serve.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Homes for Heroes YouTube channel to get notified of the new hero grants awarded by the Homes for Heroes foundation.
