(Extracted from article in The Connection by Alyssa B. Martin.)
The East Tennessee 100 Women Who Care voted to keep their donations hyper local by awarding Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department $16,100 at the WCC’s May Giving Circle held Thursday afternoon May 16, 2024.
The East Tennessee 100 Women Who Care is a group of 200 women who commit to donating $100 quarterly - or four times a year - to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been nominated by fellow members. This model they refer to as a “giving circle” and the chapter is open to any woman in the region who wishes - and commits - to joining.
Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department continues to grow.
Volunteer fire chief Jerry Dougherty made a presentation on behalf of the Fire Department for Thursday’s 100 WWC meeting, leading to the generous donation.
The TVVFD is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is fully operational with volunteers, none of whom receive any compensation for their time, services or sacrifices - true unsung heroes of Tellico Village
Volunteers aren’t required to have previous experience or training, but they are recommended to have a heart to serve and care for their fellow village neighbors
(Note: The TVVFD is currently conducting a recruitment drive. Interested individuals can visit the website for information. You can also view this video about joining and get some questions answered.)
When someone in Tellico Village contacts 911 for an emergency, the TVVFD is on the scene within 4 minutes of the alert. This is possible due to the departments two medical rescue vehicles that are stationed to the north and south of village 24 hours per day, year around. These vehicles are manned by nationally certified EMTs and EMR’s.
TVVFD also has an automatic mutual aid agreement with Loudon County Fire Department and, recently, Lenoir City Fire Department. With this agreement, when there is a structure fire, each respective entity will send a rig or engine to help with efforts.
On Saturday, May 4, TVVFD hosted its annual open house fundraiser, serving hot dogs and offering community fellowship. More than $70,000 was raised during the fundraiser.
While the TVVFD has tremendous support throughout village, Dougherty said only about a half of the residents donate and monetarily support the nonprofit.
In coming months, Dougherty said they are launching a joint initiative with the Loudon County Sheriff’s office for caretakers of men and women diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.
Senior adults with dementia will wear a bracelet with a GPS tracker in it. With the joint effort and technologies, TVVFD and the sheriffs office will be able to track and find anyone wearing the bracelet. Intent is to reduce the risks in Silver Alert cases.
For more information on the Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department go to their website, tellicofd.org.
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