By Tracy Correa
Sean Fraley, a Kern County firefighter, solicits donations during the Heroes & Helmets for Hope event in downtown Bakersfield today. The annual fundraiser, which PG&E and its employees have supported, raised $56,000 last year. (Photos by Tracy Correa.)
BAKERSFIELD – With the goal of exceeding last year’s $56,000 raised, PG&E employees helped firefighters and other volunteers on Wednesday (Sept. 5) to support Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Heroes & Helmets for Hope in downtown Bakersfield.
The annual event raises money for the Central California chapter of Make-A-Wish to help fulfill the wishes of critically-ill children. Last year, the chapter granted 107 wishes.
“A fundraiser of this magnitude wouldn’t be possible without PG&E’s help,” said Catherine Anspach, Kern County community director for Make-A-Wish.
Heroes & Helmets for Hope featured firefighters standing on street corners throughout the city with their helmets held out for donations. It also included PG&E employee volunteers serving barbecue lunches in a downtown parking lot across the street from KGET-TV 17, the headquarters for the event. PG&E volunteers also managed a steady trail of cars as people paid $7 for each meal, with money going toward Make-A-Wish.
A total of 18 PG&E volunteers – decked out in company blue T-shirts — took part in the event. This is the third year that PG&E employees have assisted. For the first time, PG&E also donated $2,500 to the local Make-A-Wish chapter.
Anspach runs a one-woman office for Make-A-Wish in Bakersfield. That makes volunteers essential for the organization to carry out its mission of helping children in Kern County, Anspach said.
For PG&E's Kellie Richmond and her 12-year-old daughter Jenna, the Heroes & Helmets for Hope fundraiser is very personal. Jenna was a Make-A-Wish recipient when she was 2. She is healthy today.
For Kellie Richmond, planned outage coordinator for PG&E in Bakersfield, taking part in the annual fundraiser is very personal: Her daughter Jenna, now a healthy 12-year-old, was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was 2. Make-A-Wish granted Jenna her wish of meeting actress and singer Miley Cyrus a few years ago, and the experience was featured in a story in the local newspaper.
“I’m a believer in paying it forward. I think that when you give, it comes back ten-fold. It’s really a blessing to be able to give,” said Richmond.
Jenna said granting children their wishes is important: “I think it makes them feel better. It makes them get their mind off of the bad things.”
PG&E employees also have supported Make-A-Wish in other locations. Last month, Diablo Canyon Power Plant employees raised $15,000 at their annual golf tournament for Make-A-Wish.
Email Tracy Correa at tracy.correa@pge.com.
