BY KATLAN THOMERSON
Glasgow News 1
On Monday, Dec. 18, children from Glasgow, Barren and Caverna school districts will make their way to Fire Line Guns and Knives for the inaugural “Shop with a Fireman” event.
“I used to be a kindergarten teacher at South Green Elementary. When we opened the store, I wanted to find a way to continue to positively impact the children in our community,” said store owner Amy Gibson.
Since January of 2023, Amy and her husband Fireman Ryan Gibson have organized many fundraisers to raise money for their Christmas event. Additionally, their customers and businesses throughout town have donated money to their cause. Mills Real Estate auctioned off a Henry Riffle and gave the proceeds to Fire Line Guns and Knives. Thanks to these contributions, 19 children will be gifted $300 cash to use on their shopping spree with a firefighter.
“We’re very thankful for the many monetary donations that we’ve received throughout the year,” Amy said.
Firefighters from Glasgow, South Barren, Cave City, Austin Tracy, and Park City departments will use a list that details items that the parents of the children who are participating in the event said they’re in need of. Once the children find everything that they need, they’re given freedom to spend the rest of the money on gifts that are on their wish list.
When first creating the event, Amy reached out to South Green Elementary Family Resource Coordinator Tammy Lindsey for assistance in finding children who haven’t been assisted for Christmas this year. Businesses and other organizations throughout Barren County can use Glasgow’s Charity Tracker managed by the Community Relief Center in Glasgow to keep track of the children who are being served by a different event. Each child participating is only allowed to register for one event.
“They can’t double dip. We try to stretch the resources for Christmas as much as we can,” Lindsey said.
To choose children for the event, the family resource coordinators for each district participating in the event took recommendations from teachers then contacted the corresponding parents of each child recommended for the program. Once the list was made, Amy contacted each parent to receive permission to register their child for the public event. Amy also reached out to the parents to find out what the children are in need of. While talking with the parents, Amy’s eyes were filled with tears.
“Some of the parents that I spoke with have since messaged me saying that they’re going to bed hungry,” she said.
This event along with several others in Barren County are created to support families who need assistance during this busy time of the year. Amy is still accepting donations. To contribute to the event, visit Fire Line Guns and Knives to drop off a gift.
“I love the community support that we have. We are very blessed to have businesses that want to sponsor children for Christmas,” Lindsey said.
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