The fire chief of a rural volunteer fire department in Missouri was pleasantly surprised after receiving a generous donation of $500,000.
As per PEOPLE, 91-year-old Sam Sloan, a retired cattle business owner, has always believed in the philosophy of love thy neighbors.
Sloan has lived in Henry County, Missouri, since 1960, and has always contributed to the local community through his kind actions, according to KMBC-TV.
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Due to Sloan’s generosity, the Washington Post reported, a rural volunteer fire department will continue to serve the local community.
Sloan, who lives hardly two miles from the Calhoun Volunteer Fire Department, has made a huge donation of $500,000 to the struggling department.
He told the newspaper, that he had been thinking of making the fire department the donation for a long time and feels this is the right time. However, as per NBC News, he was unaware that the department’s bank account had a meager balance of $169 in March this year.
As Mark Hardin, the Fire Chief has been managing the place since December 2021, the department would scrape by with donations received from other fire departments.
However, things were getting difficult for him and his 28 volunteers as he was struggling to keep things afloat.
Sloan then met Hardin, invited him for breakfast at his place, and asked him many questions about the fire department.
After just two such meetings, Hardin told NBC News, at the third breakfast invite, along with cinnamon rolls and doughnuts, Sloan and his wife surprised him with the massive donation of $500,000.
Sloan, on the other hand, believes it is important for them to have a good fire department, “with all the grass they have around here,” as told to the Washington Post.
The Calhoun Volunteer Fire Department posted about the generous donation on their Facebook page on Monday, May 6.
They mentioned in the post, “We here at Calhoun FD would like to extend our gratitude to the Sloan family. Sam and Jan recently donated $500,000.00 to our department; this money will be used to put each of our volunteers in personal protective equipment head to toe. We will also be replacing 3 apparatuses as well as purchasing other miscellaneous equipment.”
Before receiving Sloan’s donation, out of their yearly budget of $4,800, Hardin had spent most of their funds on repairing two firetrucks.
But thanks to the huge donation, Sloan wants them to spend the $500,000 on protective gear and other important things. Hardin has already begun the process of acquiring new helmets, boots, gloves, pants, and everything else.
