Mt. Pleasant Borough Christmas tree fundraiser to benefit fire department
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David and Pam DePalma brought their Christmas tree out of storage this week to prep it as the centerpiece of their Mt. Pleasant flooring shop’s holiday window display.
Once again, the branches of the tree initially will be bare, except for lights, when it is erected Nov. 25 in the shop window at 504 West Main St., along the sidewalk northwest of the Doughboy.
“But that’s just temporary,” Pam DePalma laughed.
The DePalmas’ second annual Open Chair Christmas Fund is expected eventually the fill all the tree’s branches with bright red antique fire truck ornaments as a fundraiser for the Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department.
“With the coronavirus, they’ve been forced to cancel the annual firemen’s street fair plus their fundraiser at the Mt Pleasant Glass Festival, two very large events, and we thought, what’s a better organization to benefit this year than the fire department,” Pam DePalma said.
“For the cost of a pizza, just $10, a person can purchase an ornament that will be placed on the tree with all proceeds going to benefit the fire department. They can certainly use it this year,” she said.
Mt. Pleasant Fire Chief Jerry Lucia said the department appreciates the community support and it couldn’t come at a better time.
“I’d say, with the street fair cancellation, I’d say we lost around $22,000 to $20,000, fortunately the loss wasn’t as bad with our ticket fundraiser at the glass festival as we were able to sell a cash fundraising ticket. We’re definitely thankful for the help,” he said.
“And I can tell you personally that this wasn’t spur of the moment either. After the announcement our street festival was cancelled, the DePalmas came to me last April and checked the details with us. The firefighters were definitely thrilled with that type of support coming from within our community,” Lucia said.
Pam DePalma said, last year, the fundraiser generated $1,550 to benefit the Brendan “B” Walter Memorial Scholarship fund.
Walter was a 2014 graduate of Southmoreland High School who tragically died July 19, 2014, when the car he was driving collided with a dump truck on Route 31 in East Huntingdon.
According to DePalma, the fundraiser is called “the Open Chair” because it is dedicated to anyone celebrating the holidays without someone due to death, distance or job obligations.
“With firefighters being first responders, if there’s an emergency and their called out, they might miss Christmas morning and a special Christmas family event,” Pam DePalma said.
DePalma came up with the idea last year as she experienced her own “Christmas blues” being an empty nester for the first time in almost three decades, with son, Brandon, 27, deployed aboard a submarine in the U.S. Navy, and her youngest son, Anthony, 21, in training after enlisting with the U.S. Marines.
“It just wasn’t the same without all your family around and, after years of decorating the window in anticipation of Christmas,… I just didn’t feel like it last year with the boys away. But, one morning, I woke up and thought of having an “Open Chair” fundraiser, and I called Brandon’s mother, Debra, to see if she would be OK with it and she was really happy with the idea,” Pam DePalma said.
DePalma said she couldn’t have been more pleased with the number of donations.
“We almost reached enough for two scholarships,” she said.
The DePalmas, who have operated the store for six years, said donors will be given tax slips for their donations and, after the Christmas season, they can return to the store to pick up the fire truck decorations to adorn their own tree next year.
Donations are being accepted in the store and via mail at DePalma Flooring, 504 West Main St., Mt. Pleasant, Pa., 15666.
Donors should make the check out to DePalma Flooring, write their telephone numbers on the check, plus write “2020 Open Chair Donation” in the note area.