WILLMAR -- Willmar firefighters collected cash and check donations of more than $11,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina on Thursday morning.
Twenty-three members and four trucks from the Willmar Fire Department fanned out at four busy intersections to take donations from passing motorists between 6:30 and 9 a.m.
"We expect the number to rise. We are pretty confident that it's going to go up a sizable amount from there,'' said Fire Chief Marv Calvin.
He said motorists appreciated the firefighters' efforts and wanted to send their support and encouragement to the people affected by the hurricane.
A donation by a little girl was particularly poignant.
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Calvin said the girl, who was being driven to school by her mother, insisted they return home so the girl could donate the money in her piggy bank.
"They went home and the girl emptied her piggy bank into a plastic jar, along with a $5 bill she had, and she gave the $5 bill and the change to help the victims,'' he said. "It's kind of a neat little story.''
The girl gave the money to Mike Schroeder, captain of Engine No. 7, who was one of several firefighters at the intersection of South First Street and Willmar Avenue. The mother and daughter had pulled into the Dairy Queen parking lot, where Schroeder was posted, along with a fire truck.
Calvin said donations will continue to be accepted until 4 p.m. today at the fire station.
-- David Little
