A friendly rivalry between the West Frankfort and Flora fire departments is turning Saturday’s high school football matchup between the Redbirds and Wolves at Flora into an opportunity to support two charitable causes.
West Frankfort Firefighters IAFF Local 2402 and the Flora Volunteer Fire Department have agreed to make matching donations to a charity selected by the department whose hometown team wins Saturday’s game.
If West Frankfort comes out on top, the donations will benefit Project Fire Buddies, an organization supported by Local 2402 that connects firefighters with children facing serious challenges. The program’s mission is to provide those children with “More Good Days” through friendship, encouragement and support.
If Flora wins, the donations will go to the Tyler Schroeder and Tony Doty Scholarship Fund, which supports local students while honoring two men who made lasting contributions to the Flora community and fire department.
According to the Flora Volunteer Fire Department, the charitable challenge developed following several days of friendly conversations between firefighters from the two communities, with each department confident its hometown team would win.
“As you’d expect, they think their team is going to win. We think our team is going to win,” the Flora department wrote in a social media post. “And, well… firefighters being firefighters, one thing led to another.”
Both departments are encouraging fans to attend Saturday’s game, cheer on their respective teams and support the charitable effort.
Regardless of which team wins on the football field, the firefighters say the challenge will benefit a worthy cause and demonstrate the spirit of community service shared by both departments.