Legion Post 382, and its Auxiliary unit and SAL squadron, raise more than $30,000 for local fire and police departments.
When local first responders attending a breakfast at Charles J. Fulton Post 382 in St. Clair, Mich., inquired about the post possibly helping out with some fundraising, there was no hesitation to help.
But what Post 382’s Legion Family was able to accomplish was way above and beyond what Post Commander Andy Dupuis ever imagined. In just a few months, the post, Auxiliary unit and Sons of The American Legion squadron raised more than $30,000 for the St. Clair Police Department and the St. Clair Area Fire Authority.
“I was kind of worried, just due to the fact thinking we only put this together in three months,” Dupuis said. “I was really, really kind of 'I hope we pull this off.’ When the final numbers came out, I was blown away. I couldn’t believe we did that much.”
The post regularly hosts fish fries and breakfasts, inviting local first responders to eat for free at both. When the subject of the departments have a fundraiser at the post, Dupuis said 382’s Legion Family took it a step further.
“We said, ‘Why don’t we just help you?’” Dupuis said. “We’re a little town here, and the fire department and the police department, they’re smaller forces. Sometimes their budgets aren’t big enough to handle what they need.”
The post began working on setting up a fundraising dinner, selling yard signs and reaching out to businesses and individuals in the community. The St. Clair Police & Fire Department Appreciation Day dinner and raffle took place in late September and raised more than $9,000. The remainder of the money raised came from the yard signs and the generosity of the St. Clair community, including a late donation of more than $7,000 from a corporate sponsor
“We had a lot of the businesses in town … and some of the local residents made donations,” Dupuis said. “That’s where the bulk of the money came from. Some people … just got real generous and opened up their bank accounts and really laid it on us. We were really taken aback by some of the donations from some of the people in town.”
On Feb. 13, members of Post 382’s Legion Family presented a ceremonial check to the police and fire departments. The police department will spend its part of the funds on miscellaneous expenses, while the fire department used its portion of the funds to purchase a Lucas CPR device that provides consistent and uninterrupted chest compressions during CPR.
"It's a tool worth having,” St. Clair Fire Chief David Westrick told the Times Herald. “The success rate out there is very good.”
Dupuis said the fundraiser had no chance without utilizing the post’s entire Legion Family. “If it wasn’t a total family effort, we could have never pulled it off,” he said. “Our Sons and our Auxiliary are just the best. They all came together. I can’t tell you enough good about them.”
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