Baltic Fire Department

P.O. Box 314

Baltic, CT. 06330

                                 WOW-- That time of year has snuck up on me once again and I am already way    behind in my requests for donations. I am writing to you too ask for a donation for the Baltic Fire Department’s Fifth Annual Safe Halloween Program.  Unfortunately, I have found out this year that we once again will have a decline in businesses that once were able to make donations for this program.  I am hoping that we will at least be able to collect and purchase the same amount of candy that we did for last year’s event.  I know that the economy is still not great but I also remember the smiles on the children’s faces as they participated in the costume parade to the fire house, and the “wow factor” that over whelms them when they see all of the candy that we will give away that evening. Along with the candy smile there is also that “WOW Factor” as they all look over the bikes and each others costumes. Then of course there are the smiles on the parent’s faces as they get some time to meet their neighbors or talk to an old friend whom you have not spoken to in a while because we are all so very busy running around to all of our appointments.  

          The Baltic Fire Department is a VOLUNTEER department and we are so pleased to be able to host this “Safe Halloween Program” to all of the children & parents of Sprague. The Safe Halloween Program was started in town so that we could offer a safe environment to Trick or Treat for all children and parents in town.  We would offer a safe environment where the children (& sometimes the parents,) could safely show off their costumes, they could get their photos taken in costume and MOST of all the children can get lots of candy and other prizes and all of this would be done in a safe environment.

          We are in need of donations which will allow us to run this year’s Halloween Program.  If you are making a monetary donation please do so with a check. Please make the check out as follows;, Baltic Fire Department, “Project Safe Halloween” or you can write Baltic Volunteer Fire Department on the line “For OR pay to the order of” and then in the “memo area or the “for “area in the lower left corner PLEASE write Safe Halloween, this way your donation will be deposited into the correct fund. If you would also like to make a donation of candy we ask that ALL of the candy still be in its original wrapper and bag. We ask that you please write your name on the bag or a piece of masking tape which will than be taped to the bag. If you need the candy picked up at your home or business please feel free to contact me. If you would like to drop off the candy but find that no one is at the firehouse to accept it, then we ask that PLEASE bring the candy to the Town Clerk’s office at the Sprague Town Hall. This seemed to work out great for everyone as many families dropped off the bags of candy at the town hall last year and we want to thank everyone for that. 

         Last year a couple of local businesses really came through which allowed us to hold this program for the children of Sprague.   Ken Fontaine from the AMGRAPH Corporation was the major contributor last year and has been our NUMBER ONE Contributor since we started to host such a program at the Baltic Fire House. One other major sponsor was Sharkys Pizza from High Street in Baltic. Since our first Safe Halloween Program in Sprague, Sharkeys has donated ALL six (6) bicycles that are given away each year to the three different age groups for both boys & girls.

         PLEASE take the time to respond back to this request for a donation. I am trying to use as little money as possible on paper and postage and use it instead on the candy for the children. In order for me to do this I am attempting to conduct just one mailing asking for the much needed donations. YOUR donations of money and or candy will allow the Baltic Volunteer Fire Fighters to run this Safe Halloween program, free of charge to all and using NO money from our fiscal budget. ALL of the candy, bikes, material, back drops have either been donated or purchased with money that was donated by businesses and residents of Sprague.  All of the Baltic Fire Department members volunteer their time to clean the fire house, set up the tables, back drops, etc, and then to clean up again after all of the candy has been passed out.

If you would also like to assist with this program, I am always looking for a group of people who can think up & run some Halloween games for the children to play as they wait for that time of night when the costume contest winners are named and the six bikes are given away to the winners of each age group. If you have any questions about our program or if you need a donation picked up, PLEASE e-mail me or give me a phone call. I hope to see everyone in costume for our annual costume parade and the Safe Halloween Program at the Baltic Fire Department. 

         I know that times are hard for many of us and that just gassing up you’re vehicle now forces many to decide on what item we must do without at the store. I also know that this year will bring more children to our firehouse for our Safe Halloween Program and I hope that you may be able to make a donation for this event. Last year we had a little over 350 children along with 375 adults attend. It seemed that the parade was the length of Route 97, from the town hall up to the firehouse.

         Every year brings more children attending our event which is great for all since that means that there is less of a chance of a accident since there are less children who may be wearing a dark costume or one that may infringe on the ability to see what is coming at them out on a street, all the while there seem to be more & more cars out & about.  I must admit that I am always a bit nervous that no one will show up BUT once I see how many children and parents (all dressed in costumes) show up for the parade all I can do is smile. Hopefully we will once again be blessed with great weather for the costume parade but no matter what the weather turns out to be, we will still hold the Halloween Program in the firehouse. We hope to see you there. Of course the good weather does not stop me from worrying, there is always that big worry of “Did I purchase enough candy to give out to all who attend?” Please help my candy worries go away and send us a donation for our Safe Halloween Program, which in turn will allow us to purchase all of the candy that we use each year. Thank you so very much for your donation and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions pertaining to this year’s event.

Sincerely,

Reg Patchell

Chairman Safe Halloween Program- Baltic Fire Department

P.O. Box 314

Baltic, CT. 06330

Cell; 860-917-5064

Home; 860- 822-6228

E-mail; regpatchell@comcast.net

    If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail or call Reg at;
                                       regpatchell@comcast.net

                                                       OR

                                   860 822 6228, 860 917 5064

            The men & women of the Baltic Fire Engine Company # 1 would like to say Thank you so very much for your support of our volunteer fire department through out the years.

          Thanks to the generous donations of some local businesses and families, we have
 been able to host the Halloween Program and  give out a lot of candy and other Halloween items.  While at our Halloween party you can have your fortune told, play games, meet your neighbors, and the party ends with the awarding of six ( 6) bikes, which are given away to six (6) youths in three different age groups for the boys & girls.

         The following businesses have made it possible  for the Baltic Fire Department to
 hold this great Halloween Party. AMGRAPH Corporation of Baltic has been the
 number one sponsor of our Halloween event for three years in a row. If it were not for
 AMGRAPH’S generous donations  we would have had a very hard time holding our  party. Sharkey’s Pizza of Baltic has donated  six bikes for the Halloween costume
 judging for the A LL three years.  In 2008, Walmart of Lisbon  awarded a grant to the
 Baltic Fire Department , which allowed us to purchase many of the Halloween
 decorations, and other assorted items that were needed to hold a party such as ours.  In 
 2009, Caraustar   contacted companies that it did business with as well as all of their
 employees asking them to please donate a bag of candy for our party. On Halloween,
 we stopped at Caraustar Packaging and found that they had collected and were donating
 six LARGE boxes of packaged candy! And for the third year in a row

 Malerba’s Farm donated ALL of the pumpkins that we wanted for our event.

          Along with these four large sponsors, there are many more businesses and
 families that have sent in money, which allows us to purchase close to $2,000.00 worth
 of candy each year. We were a bit nervous in 2008 because we had lost  two
 companies who had made large donations our first year. Peter Paul Candy  Company
 had been bought out and moved out of state, no longer making any donations and AMD
 Distributors  had also been bought out and were no longer allowed to make any
 donations. Somehow, the people of Baltic must have heard about this because there
 were so many people stopping by at the firehouse with packages of candy and many
 more were  calling us to arrange for someone to pick up the candy at their home that
 they were donating .  The families and businesses of Baltic came through and helped
 the Baltic Fire Department  with the much-needed donations, which in turn allowed us
 to hold  the largest Halloween Party that we have ever held.

       Our first party was in 2006 and we had around 125  children attend our party  
 which  was a great turn out we thought.  In 2007,  we had around 250 children attend
 our party. In 2008, we were very surprised by the large turnout.  We were expecting to
 have around 300 children attend our party BUT instead  we had 500 children attend the 
 party who also had 215 parents in tow.  WOW, we had to delay the announcement for
 the winners of the bikes since the judges had not seen all of the children in their
 costumes.  We are so glad that the families in Baltic  are making  The Baltic Fire
 House  the place to  go too for the trick or treating. We run this Halloween party  so that
 the children will not have to run around on the streets when it may be dark out, when
 the children’s vision may be hampered by the costume, and there may be a speeding
 car(s) or a driver of a car not paying attention to the roads or the children. We  hold this
 party  as a  way for everyone to come to the firehouse, meet some of the members , ask
 any questions that you may have, see some of our equipment and most of all: as a way 
 for the children to have fun in a safe setting where parents will not have to worry about
 any product  that is being given to their children.  We hope to see  you again  at the
 20009 Halloween Party!!