The Firefighters 4 Kids program started in 1977 after a Columbus firefighter, Mike Mullins, had an emergency call to a home with young children and noticed they had nothing for the children for Christmas.
Mike began the program working with a handful of other firefighters in the basement of his home.
In the beginning , the toys that were provided were often used toys or new toys that Columbus firefighters had donated to be delivered to families in need.
As the needs in the community grew, and as more people got involved, the program was able to expand and begin to assist more children during the holiday season.
In 2023, the program provided toys to 3,281 families and 8,301 children. This number is a significant increase from previous years and was all managed from donations from our community.
In 2020, the program was put on hold due to COVID, but still managed to provided toys/products to local agencies to assist children in the community.
The organization has a very strong volunteer community and relies on it to work the program. At no time has anyone that is a part of the program received a salary, and that continues to be the standard today.
