Arlington Hts. firefighters feed the holiday spirit

Arlington Heights firefighters pulled up at a dozen different homes on Friday, but not to fight fires. Instead, they came loaded with holiday meals, with all the fixings.

For the 17th year, members of the Arlington Heights Firefighters' Association collected donations from its members and administrators in order to make it a special holiday for needy families.

This year, their combined donations added up to $900, or enough to feed 12 families, said Lt. Pete Ahlman, who coordinated the effort.

When they began delivering the meals in 1993, they started with six families.

“Every day we're in different homes and see all kinds of difficult situations that people in Arlington Heights don't get to see,” Ahlman said. “We thought this was the right thing to do, and our guys in the firehouse were very responsive.”

In past years, the firefighters have worked with Jewel Foods to put together the meals, but this year they partnered with Mariano's Fresh Market in Arlington Heights, who also made a donation to the cause.

“We like to help the communities that support us and get involved wherever we can,” said Ken Szymanski, store director.

Names of families were provided by the human services division of the health department in Arlington Heights. The village has financial assistance and holiday assistance programs to help residents with emergency needs.

Each box included an 8-pound ham and vegetables, potatoes, rolls and fresh fruit, a gallon of milk, two 2-litre bottles of pop, a pumpkin pie with whipped cream and a $10 gift card.

Ahlman has coordinated the holiday meals for the last eight years after taking it over from Arlington Heights firefighter Tom Witt, who has retired.

Each year, Ahlman says, he has lots of volunteers from his members who want to deliver the meals, and even customers at the grocery store who want to contribute on the spot.

“Everyone wants to get in on it,” Ahlman says. “It just feels good to give over the holidays.”