CommentsDEEGAN ON LA-In these uncertain bad times, we can see goodness everywhere, showing us that there are many angels in the City of the Angels.
It’s dawning on the “safer at home” population that there’s a category of people -- like medical workers, firefighters and police officers, grocery clerks, pharmacists, restaurant and delivery workers, to name a few -- that is helping to keep us moving forward with our needs when most of the city is halted in lockdown.
Appreciation for these frontline saviors is creeping into public consciousness. Expressing gratitude is one of the enhanced behaviors we are seeing in this time of great uncertainty.
A textbook case of how a little love can go a long way is a pilot program supporting our firefighters that connects LAFD Station 61, the Original Farmers Market, and the First-In-Fire Foundation.
Merchants at the Farmers Market supply food to Fire Station 61 that is paid for by fundraising by the First-In-Fire Foundation. Political support and some early funding by Councilmember David Ryu (CD4) helped to power the program.
The philanthropic exchange is simple: donors to the foundation know they are benefitting the firefighters we depend on. In return for their donations, they get the satisfaction that firefighters are being cared for by their generosity. This is a “giving” model that can be easily followed elsewhere across the city.
There is always a need that can be filled through a passion to be of service.
“Firefighters traditionally shop, cook and pay for their own dinners themselves, but right now our firefighters are safer to serve us out of grocery store lines. With this pilot, and the support of Councilmember Ryu, we can have their back and support local small merchants by simply dining” said Lyn Cohen, President of the First-In Fire Foundation.
Cohen added, “Now, more than ever before, a community-fire department partnership matters. Our mission is bonding local citizens with their local firefighters and visa-versa.”
A spokesperson for the LAFD told CityWatch that “Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas urged fire stations to support local businesses by ordering take-out from local restaurants instead of struggling to shop and cook every shift during the pandemic. However, this generous and thoughtful pilot program takes it to a whole new level that is truly humbling. Additionally, your Los Angeles Firefighters stand alongside all First Responders and Healthcare Workers to applaud the public for heeding the Safer at Home order. We are all in this together.”
Speaking for the Original Farmers Market, Mark Panatier, Vice President of the A.F. Gilmore Company, which owns the Original Farmers Market, said, “The Original Farmers Market is pleased to be working with our friends at First-In Fire. For decades, the Market has provided holiday meals as a thank you to our local firefighters in Station 61, so when Lyn Cohen called and asked for some help to coordinate First-In Fire's efforts, we said, “Of course!" First responders are not always thought of in our day-to-day lives, but they most certainly are when we need them. So the Original Farmers Market is pleased to help them when they need us!”
Rounding out this holy trinity of generosity is Councilmember David Ryu (CD4), who helped fund the Firehouse Dinners pilot program with the First-In-Fire Foundation, an organization founded in 2008 by Lyn and Marc Cohen. The foundation is committed to a well-respected tradition of connecting local citizens to their local fire stations. They friend-raise and fundraise citywide for the Fire Service and the Fire Department, its firefighters, fire stations, services and programs, including LAFD Adopt-A-Fire Station Program, Fire Safety Education, CERT, DAC, and Emergency Preparedness (including Pet Preparedness).
Ryu said “Our first responders are working around the clock to keep Angelenos safe during this pandemic. They need hearty, nutritious meals and our local restaurants need the support. Through the great partnership of the First-In Fire Foundation and the Original Farmers Market, we’ve been able to put our local businesses to work feeding our firefighters.”
John Lennon captured the giving sentiment when he sang, “It’s easy. . .all you need is love,” and Simon and Garfunkel described the process perfectly when they sang, “when darkness comes, and pain is all around, like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down.”
(Tim Deegan is a civic activist whose DEEGAN ON LA weekly column about city planning, new urbanism, the environment, and the homeless appears in CityWatch. Tim can be reached at [email protected].) Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
