Stephen Rexford, Ellington Fire Department; Ray Lindquist, Falconer Little League; Tory Irgang, CRCF executive director; Rose Mary Carver, grants committee member; Judy Whittaker, Ellington Farman Library; Eric Yager, Volunteer Firemanás Association of Falconer; and Marilyn Wozniak, Our Lady of Loreto; celebrate this yearás Falconer Region Community Fund Grant Awards. Not pictured are grants committee members, Robb Jones, Cathleen Kimball, Ben Morey, Brian Nelson and Jim Roach.

The Falconer Region Community Fund and Donald R. Swanson Memorial Fund recently awarded grants to seven organizations throughout the Ellington, Falconer and Kennedy communities.

More than $8,000 was distributed to the Ellington Farman Library to purchase materials for a new Birthday Book Bash! program; town of Ellington to purchase thermal imaging cameras for the Ellington Volunteer Fire Department; Falconer Central School District for its Summer STEM CAMP for middle school students; Falconer Little League to purchase batting helmets for major and minor league players; Our Lady of Loreto to purchase materials for intergenerational activities; the village of Falconer to repair the gazebo roof in Davis Park and plant trees in Pine Hill Cemetery; and the Volunteer Fireman’s Association of Falconer to purchase a new washer and dryer.

According to Stephen Rexford, Ellington Fire Department chief, the current camera and thermal equipment is more than 20 years old. Not only will the new camera be smaller and lighter than the current one, it will also have the most up-to-date technology and ability to be updated when new programming becomes available.

“Every time we respond to a structure fire, there are lives at stake – whether it’s the residents or fire fighters,” Rexford wrote in his grant request. “Their safety and survivability will greatly increase with the addition of a new thermal imaging camera to our specialized tool inventory.”

The Ellington Volunteer Fire Department directly serves the town of Ellington, which encompasses 36 square miles and a population of roughly 1,600 residents. As participants of the county mutual aid plan, the department also responds to immediate neighboring fire departments on a regular basis providing additional resources as needed in the event of an emergency.

“When there is an emergency, having the best, most up to date equipment available makes a huge difference in a life saved or a life lost,” Rexford wrote.

The Falconer Region Community Fund was created in 2012 under the leadership of lifelong Falconer residents, Maurice and Doris Roach, who brought community members and local stakeholders together to support charitable activities in their community.

Additional grant making has been made possible through the Donald R. Swanson Memorial Fund, created in 2017 by the family of former Falconer resident, Donald Swanson and through a generous gift from the Board of Directors of the former Methodist Gardens that was placed in the Falconer Region Community Fund in 2018.

Grants are awarded annually charitable projects and needs associated with nonprofit organizations, churches and public entities located within the Falconer Central School District.