Project FIRE held one of their final volunteer workdays of the fall semester on Dec. 4 at Cullowhee United Methodist Church.
A few WCU students showed up to chop wood in the near-freezing weather. The wood they chop will be given to people in need on Dec. 7 at Firewood Day.
Project FIRE was created in 2010 by the United Methodist Church as a nationwide movement to provide firewood to low-income and elderly individuals. In Jackson County, Cullowhee United Methodist Church and the Jackson County Council of Aging partner to hold a weekly event for volunteers to chop firewood for the community.
“Other than meeting the physical need of making sure elderly in our county stay warm in weather like this, I would say the most important part is the connection that we get to have with the university,” said Mitchell Boughman, Cullowhee United Methodist Church pastor.
Any student or community member is encouraged to volunteer at Project FIRE after filling out an online waiver. Boughman said firewood chopping days will have anywhere from just a few volunteers to up to 15.
“Everyone was really sweet and helpful when getting us set up. It was a really relaxing activity, especially during finals week. I liked the monotonous movement and knowing that I was doing something to help other people during the holidays,” said Graceann Ford, WCU student and previous volunteer for Project FIRE.
Project FIRE is held every Wednesday from 12:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. this year.
The wood is locally sourced, often including WCU campus trees when they need to be cut down.
Yearly, Project FIRE delivers 200 firewood loads to community members. The wood is loaded into trucks at Cullowhee United Methodist Church during IMPACT and Firewood days. These events happen throughout the year on Saturdays.
