Another $5,000 Raised For NY Firefighters’ Children’s Fund—

Generosity Continues To Reign Supreme In Fundraising Efforts

By Shannon Hicks

Area residents dug into their pockets again last weekend, this time adding another $5,000 to the New York Firefighters Children’s Fund started by Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company First Engineer Bill Brunetti, Jr. Thanks to last weekend’s work, the fund now sits comfortably over the $100,000 mark.

Hot Shots II, a sports bar at the intersection of Mt Pleasant Road and Route 25 in Newtown, opened its doors on October 13 for an all-day fundraiser that included live music, refreshments, raffles, and fundraising. Hot Shots II and Newtown Emergency Services co-hosted the event.

The doors of the restaurant opened at 11 Saturday morning, and the party got underway about two hours later. An acoustic duo called Jen Taylor & Carrie got the ball rolling early in the afternoon, followed later in the afternoon by The Gutter Boogie Band. Both bands donated their time for the effort. Well over 50 firefighters and members of the town’s ambulance company also donated their time at the restaurant on Saturday, collecting money at the door, organizing raffle drawings, and generally keeping the mood light and festive. The restaurant’s staff also worked pro bono for the day. Additionally, the wait staff donated all of their tips.

The headlining band of the evening was Moppin’ Sauce, a group that makes a show of covering disco and funk of the late Seventies and Eighties, complete with costumes. The band had been hired weeks in advance, and played until the 1 am closing.

As they entered the restaurant, visitors were encouraged to sign an oversize card that had been created for New York’s firefighters by Mr Brunetti’s sister Katie, who is also a member of the Hawleyville fire company. Pages of posterboard were filled with heartfelt sentiments, which will eventually be hand-delivered to The Site in New York City.

Brookfield-based radio station I-95 FM also got into the mix, broadcasting for a few hours from the bar and donating a number of prizes for the raffles that were continuous from the time the restaurant opened for business that afternoon. The radio station joined with the restaurant’s liquor and food distributors and number of local restaurants in donating everything from mugs, baseball hats, and T-shirts to denim shirts and leather jackets. Thousands of items were given away during the 12-hour event.

“Tons of people from around the town got into this,” Mr Brunetti said this week. “There were so many donations for the raffle, I wish I could remember everybody’s names. It was a real good outpouring … the generosity was amazing.”

Meanwhile, the kitchen at Hot Shots II offered a limited menu with special prices that made the feeding frenzy a little easier to keep under control. Patrons all day had their choice of burgers, hot dogs, grinders, and wings.

“What was nice was that we had a great range of ages show up for this,” Mr Brunetti said. “We had all ages during the day, when people were coming in with their families. Then we got the older crowd at night.” Mr Brunetti estimated 500 people attended the fundraiser.

For the older crowd, Newtown emergency services had promised a designated driver, no questions asked, for anyone who needed one. Three people took advantage of the service, and Mr Brunetti said this week that the car used for the night was donated by Enterprise Rent-A-Car of Danbury.

The largest chunk of money raised through Saturday’s efforts undoubtedly came from the $10 charged at the door. All of the cover charge, it was promised, was forwarded directly into the Children’s Fund. Additionally, money collected through the sale of raffle tickets and also through the sale of T-shirts was put into the fund.

“It was exhausting, I can tell you that,” Hot Shots II owner Bill Piccirillo, Jr, said this week. “I felt like I got run over by a train by the end of the night, but it was good.” Mr Brunetti ended up working behind the bar all night, while his staff labored to keep up with the crowd.

“We were just a little bit understaffed,” Mr Piccirillo admitted. “We had plenty of people working during the day, but at night we were swamped.” The crowd was steady during the early afternoon, but picked up measurably after 4 pm.

“Everything was always under control, though,” he continued. “We didn’t have any problems. It was definitely a success. I can’t thank everyone enough. Everybody worked so well together — the staff here, the firemen, everyone. You’re not going to find too many places where an entire staff is willing to donate their time to something.”

“We all had a great time,” Mr Brunetti said. “The guys, everybody, they all broke their butts pulling this thing together and then working over there Saturday night. We had a good time. The radio station did a great job, the girls who played at the beginning of the afternoon did a real good job, and The Gutter Boogie Band, they were fantastic.

“It was a little chaotic at times,” he laughed, “but it was definitely an adventure.”

The Children’s Fund

Mr Brunetti was at the Hawleyville firehouse on the night of September 11, trying to make sense of that horrific day’s events and making up his mind that something had to be done. While talking with family, friends, and fellow company members that night, Mr Brunetti decided to establish the New York Firefighters’ Children’s Fund. The account was open by 9 am on September 12 at Newtown Savings Bank.

“You hear so much these days about misappropriated funds,” Mr Brunetti said this week. “I wanted to make sure I knew where everything was going, so I took care of opening this fund myself.”

The first large donation to the account came after the weekend of September 15-16, when firemen collected “$58,000 and change,” Mr Brunetti said, during a fill-the-hat event around town. Buckets have also been placed in stores around town for those who want to add to the fund, and more money has been coming in through mailed donations.

Mr Brunetti hopes to close the account on or around November 1. At that time, he will have a bank check drawn up and it will be time to visit The Site. Mr Brunetti plans to continue to keep all of Newtown’s fire departments involved, right down to the delivery of the money that has been collected in town.

“I want to go into the city with at least a few reps from each fire company and the ambulance crew,” he said. “We’ll bring that money right into the city ourselves.”

Donations are still being accepted for the New York Firefighters’ Children’s Fund. Anyone wishing to donate can send checks directly to Newtown Savings Bank, 39 Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470; checks should be made out to the fund.