Chive Charities didn’t exist in 2009, when Kenny George emailed me asking theCHIVE community to to save his volunteer fire department in Fluvanna County, Virginia. I was a kid then and I thought I’d give it a shot…see if the Chive community had the right stuff. It took less than 24 hours for me to realize that you, theCHIVE community, were only beginning to flex your muscles. I knew it was the start of something big.
We raised $33,000, rescued the fire department and changed our entire history. I’ll never forget Kenny’s response, “You saved us, lives will be the same because of what your Chivers did. Please understand what you and your community has done, John. I know theCHIVE is this fun place, but you are more than that now. This is not what you asked for, but this is your patch. Kenny signed off, ‘This is for the fallen.’ And I knew what he meant, he didn’t have to say much more.
From there, Chive Charities took off and hit the ground running. We will always be partial to our first responders for so many reasons and are so proud of the foundation they’ve helped us build.
There’s a video I’ve never shared about the Hudson Volunteer Fire Dept. (because it makes me look like a better person than I am) but maybe it explains a lot.
Since then.
It’s been a long night in America, I know. Beyond the remembrance today, there are the real torchbearers; those that witnessed American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 slam into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center and change the world forever and the Chivers saw beyond the politics – They saw the firefighters, husbands and fathers, who answered the call that day and made the commitment that, when the fire alarm bell sounds off, we would have their backs.
From NYC Engine 54/Ladder 4/Battalion 9 to Hudson Volunteer Fire Dept. Beyond the politics, it’s a family thing. We have your back and always will.
Never Forget,
John
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