HARRIS COUNTY, Ga. (WRBL) — On the morning of August 4, fire engines surrounded the intersection in Ellerslie. The firefighters weren't there to put out the flames, they were there to raise money for local families in need.
When Ellerslie Fire Chief Skip Wyatt heard that local resident and Georgia State Police trooper Blake Shiver was scheduled to undergo total heart replacement surgery, he knew it was time to act.
“About a week ago, I was on my way to Birmingham and I saw on Facebook that he was going to have surgery,” Wyatt said. “I thought, 'I've got to do something,' so I started making calls on the way and making plans.”
Firefighters gathered at the fire station at 8 a.m. Sunday to begin collecting donations. Wyatt had just called to check in on Shiver, who remains at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta after a successful transplant on July 28.
Volunteer firefighters from Ellerslie and Waverly Hall joined forces with members of the American Legion Local 189 to raise funds, wearing firefighter's boots with Shiver's picture on them to collect donations.
-
Ellerslie and Waverly Hall firefighters teamed up with American Legion Local 189 to raise money for Georgia State Trooper Blake Shiver, who recently underwent a heart transplant. (Olivia Yepes) -
Ellerslie and Waverly Hall firefighters teamed up with American Legion Local 189 to raise money for Georgia State Trooper Blake Shiver, who recently underwent a heart transplant. (Olivia Yepes) -
Ellerslie and Waverly Hall firefighters teamed up with American Legion Local 189 to raise money for Georgia State Trooper Blake Shiver, who recently underwent a heart transplant. (Olivia Yepes)
Thirty minutes after the fundraiser began, they were already close to their goal of about $7,000, and the group of volunteers planned to keep fundraising until at least noon.
“Obviously, everyone in the community has been very, very, very receptive,” said Dean Denton with the Waverly Hall Fire Department.
He continued: “They're emptying out the ashtrays. They're emptying all the coins in the ashtrays. I once had a little girl donate all the coins she'd saved up for a year, enough to fill a bottle. So, [received] very well.”
Shiver, a 49-year-old Navy veteran and father of two, has not worked for several weeks since being hospitalized in early July. GoFundMe A page set up by his family states that the state trooper was his family's main financial supporter.
Mark Shreve knows Shiver through his work with the American Legion, and said Shiver has played a vital role in the organization over the past year since he joined.
“I think he's a fair person and a kind person — both,” Shreve said of his fellow community members. “The great thing about state police is they're very caring people.”
It's unclear how long Shiver will remain at Piedmont Atlanta, according to his GoFundMe, which has raised about $21,000.
Volunteers who ran the fundraiser this morning in Harris County hope the donations will help Shiver's recovery. Anyone wishing to donate can do so through Ellerslie Fire Department Station 300 or Shiver's GoFundMe page.
