MDA "FILL THE BOOT" DAYS

This years collection days are upcoming!!! May 20th - 25th. Monday -Saturday

As has been the case for the past several years, pizza will be provided on the first three collection days!! Please make a personal committment to increase our last years totals by staying out even one hour longer than last year!!! Exciting breakthroughs are happening with several of the neuromuscular diseases!! Let's help wipe these debilitating diseases like ALS out!!

Supply groupings will be May14,15,16.

See you on the corner!!

IAFF Celebrates 95th Anniversary

February 28, 2013 – The IAFF is celebrating 95 years of uniting fire fighters and paramedics to protect and enhance wages, benefits and working conditions, while providing better services to their communities. For nearly a century, the IAFF has been a leader in advancements that have changed the fire service and the lives of its members. From the coats on their back to the hours worked, this union has always been on the frontline.

The IAFF was formed in 1918 at a time when fire fighters worked seven days a week, had few benefits and safety meant putting a wet towel over their face before running into flames. By uniting fire fighters, this union became the voice of fire fighters and paramedics across the United States and Canada. 

Before the IAFF was officially formed, 17 locals had affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Pittsburgh fire fighters -- which became IAFF Local 1 -- decided to organize when their newly elected city government threatened to remove fire fighters who didn't support the new administration. At the 1917 AFL convention President Samuel Gompers helped create the IAFF, predicting that the IAFF would become one of the largest unions in the AFL-CIO. At the first IAFF Convention, 36 delegates representing 24 locals gathered in Washington, DC to adopt a Constitution and Bylaws. By the 1930s, the IAFF had assisted locals in Pennsylvania to pass the first heart and lung Act, Workers' Compensation Act and the Occupational Disease Law.

Over the decades, the IAFF continued to grow and improve working conditions for its members, including emergency medical personnel who became part of the IAFF when fire-based EMS first emerged in the late 1960s. The IAFF also passed Public Safety Officer Benefit legislation in 1976 and helped develop industry standards for fire departments, as well as standards for training and personal protective equipment for fire fighters beginning in the 1980s.

In 2001, the IAFF responded to the September 11 terrorist attacks -- a tragedy on a scale no one had ever seen and an event that changed the nation forever -- and was at Ground Zero providing assistance to help members and their families. When more than 200 locals felt the impact of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and Hurricane Wilma, the union provided direct and immediate help to IAFF members, and more recently Super Storm Sandy. The IAFF continues to fight local, state and federal battles to help members re-build their departments and their lives.

The IAFF was a driving force behind creating minimum acceptable standards for fire departments to follow, the union championed NFPA Standard 1710, a national industry standard for on-scene operations, including adequate staffing to assure safe, efficient and effective operations and to protect fire fighter lives.

In 2002, the IAFF turned its attention to promote safe staffing after the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported that inadequate staffing contributed to the deaths of two Houston fire fighters who were killed in 2000 while fighting a fire in a high-rise building. The IAFF proposed and passed the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Act of 2003 authorizing funds to hire additional new fire fighters to help fire departments reach proper staffing levels. In 2010, the IAFF convinced Congress to amend the grant requirements so that federal funds could be used to rehire fire fighters who had been laid-off due to the troubled economy. Thousands of IAFF members have returned to work as a result. 

The IAFF's role in national politics has given the IAFF increasingly more power and influence -- and the capacity -- to create and support legislation on behalf of first responders, as well as play an active part in the United States and Canada in electing politicians who support the IAFF and fire fighter issues. The IAFF's political action committee -- FIREPAC -- was formed in 1975 as a means for fire fighters to have their voices heard on legislative matters, and is now in the top one-half of one percent of the nearly 6,100 federally registered PACs in the country.

Today, the IAFF remains the primary advocate for providing fire fighters and paramedics with the tools they need to perform their jobs. Our history is our legacy. Collecting and sharing the beginnings of this union is more important than ever in order to continue that legacy of achievements and political accomplishments.

PUSH-UP CHALLENGE FUNDRAISER

Toni Moore, President/ CEO The Hospitality House of Tulsa

(918) 551?6670

tmoore@tulsahospitalityhouse.org

Local Firefighter and Cancer Survivor Teams with Channing Day School to Give Back; Third Annual Fundraiser kicks off on February 15

Last year, Tulsa fire fighter and cancer survivor, John Buck, raised more than $30,000 with the “Half a Hundred for Hospitality” fundraiser which benefited families traveling to Tulsa for a medical crisis. Buck is continuining to give back to his community and helping others in similar medical crises by kicking off the third?annual “Half a Hundred” fundraiser benefiting the Hospitality House of Tulsa on February 15.

“The money raised in the last two years directly helped meet the needs of patients, like me, that found themselves entirely uprooted by a medical crisis,” Buck said. “Tulsa is a giving community and I love to see us come together to help others. When the community unites for a good cause, everybody wins.” This year, Buck is teaming with Channing Day School’s Red Birds and Blue Birds classes and their families to expand the fundraising challenge to the next level. Owner and Director of the private Channing Day School for nearly 40 years, Trish Lieser, is thrilled to be coordinating the efforts at the school. The children have been practicing their push?ups and flexing their bicep muscles, ready to help families in medical crisis at Hospitality House.

The community is encouraged to get involved in the cause by committing to do push?ups for 50 consecutive days, beginning February 15 and ending April 5. Participants can find sponsors to donate a penny, nickel, dime, quarter or dollar per push?up. All of the proceeds will benefit the Hospitality House of Tulsa and go directly to helping individuals and their families as they seek medical treatment in Tulsa.

Just over three years ago, Buck was diagnosed with a rare form of head and neck cancer. He sought treatment out of state, which required him and his wife to relocate more than 500 miles away from home for weeks on end. Without the support and sacrifice of family, friends and the Tulsa Fire Department, John’s 50 days of active treatment would have been infinitely more difficult. The compassion and hospitality of others enabled him to receive the care he needed.

“More than 25,000 patients and caregivers travel to Tulsa each year from 50 to 800 miles away. By offering lodging, meals and support, it allows these families to face their battle with hope and focus on their patient’s health without the overwhelming financial burden of out?of?pocket expenses. Too many patients and families choose not to seek proper care and treatment based upon their inability to pay for these basic living expenses away from home,” Toni Moore, President & CEO of Hospitality House of Tulsa, said. “Through fundraisers like ‘Half a Hundred,’ we are able to support the operating expenses of our mission and serve more families.”

By participating in “Half a Hundred for Hospitality,” our community can help others win the fight! To get involved, visit our Welcome Center for the “Half a Hundred for Hospitality” brochure or visit www.tulsahospitalityhouse.org/events.htm and download the brochure to get started! You can deliver your completed forms and donations to Hospitality House’s Welcome Center or to Trish Lieser at Channing Day School.

For more information, contact Hospitality House at 918?794?0088. ###

About the Hospitality House of Tulsa:

The Hospitality House of Tulsa is a 501(c)(3) non?profit organization, providing lodging, meals and support services to families of inpatients and outpatients in the Tulsa area hospitals, traveling at least 30 miles to Tulsa to care for their loved one during a medical crisis.

*Please see fact sheet for more info

Tulsa Firefighters Health Center Missed Appointments

P.S. Please add Care ATC Health Center phone number to your cell phone so it’s available when you need it.  1-800-993-8244