A Day Warmed by Giving : Helping: Firefighters, school team up to carry food, cheer and holiday blessing to low-income neighborhoods.

Carrying frozen turkeys and canned food instead of fire hoses and pickaxes, a team of Westminster firefighters cruised the city on Wednesday, delivering a different kind of public service.

During a tour of low-income neighborhoods, three off-duty firefighters, brought food and holiday wishes to often unsuspecting recipients.

“This is such a surprise!” declared Carmen Tapia, 43, as the three uniformed firefighters brought the bounty to her home.

“Thank you. This is wonderful,” she said through an interpreter, who explained that Tapia’s car had broken down and, with money tight, her family might have had no turkey for Thanksgiving.

Now, she said, with the cost of dinner taken care of “Thanksgiving is going to be a nice relaxing day with the family.”

Twice each holiday season, firefighters make these gift-giving rounds as part of a cooperative program with Johnson Middle School, whose students and staff donate the food, choose the recipients and decorate the gift boxes.

During Wednesday’s tour of the city aboard a reserve fire engine, Firefighters Paul Gilbrook, Craig Campbell, and acting Fire Chief Don Herr made deliveries along streets near the school including La Pat Place, Golden Nugget Circle and Edwards Street.

One woman, who watched wide-eyed and flabbergasted as the men brought the box into her kitchen, exclaimed: “Thank you! Oh my goodness, I wasn’t expecting this at all!”

The woman, who asked that her name not be used, said the gifts would immensely brighten her family’s holiday. “I’m very thankful. It would have been really poor, really bad without this,” she said. “This will really help. We’re going to have a nice turkey dinner.”

To Campbell the highlight of the day was “just the look on their faces. Sometimes people’s looks will tell more that what words could say. It’s a look of hope and that there’re people out in the community that still care.”

Among the families receiving the care packages were several with children at Johnson Middle School. One student, who was concerned about the welfare of her neighbors, enthusiastically helped collect food and decorate the boxes without knowing that one of them would find its way to her house.

Inside the decorated gift boxes were cans of beans, corn, pudding, baby’s formula, plus cheese, cartons of grapefruit juice, noodles, hot dogs, buns and a frozen turkey. Some of the boxes, which were decorated with colored paper and pencils to resemble turkeys, also contained holiday greetings from students.

One letter, from eighth-grade student Lindsay Larson read: “Thanksgiving is a time to remember what you have in your heart, not what material things you have. The foods we gave you came from the heart. We hope you have a great Thanksgiving with friends and family.

“Happy Thanksgiving from Johnson Middle School.”

Johnson student Brent Neal, 14, said the joy involved comes from “just know(ing) that you’re helping out someone for Thanksgiving and they’re going to have some food to eat.”

“It’s also good to know that if it’s one of our friends, they’re going to have a good Thanksgiving too,” added Michelle Massey, 13.

For Tamara Popovich, 12, the most important part was to show that people care. “That’s what Thanksgiving is all about, helping and sharing,” she said.

During a stop on La Pat place, Loree Haubrick, 58, watched as the firefighters brought a box to a family living in a nearby apartment. She asked if she could have one, too, explaining, “I wasn’t going to have a turkey dinner.”

Minutes later she was accepting a box for herself, thanking Campbell and hugging him, she called him “a sweetie.”

As the firefighters left, she wished them happy Thanksgiving and added: “Helping others and giving thanks for what you have are the most important things.”

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS: B12