Help a Volunteer Firefighter

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Sinkas

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Disclaimer: The same thread can be found on another popular Minecraft-related forum. Please do not bash me on posting it here as well as the audience is fairly different. Thank you!

Hello everybody.
I'm here to share a story with you, and ask for some of your help.
I currently live on my own on a Greek island in order to be close to my university where I study for a BA degree. Having been on the island for about a year, I started getting bored since I had nothing to do. As a result, I decided to search for a volunteer organization so I can spend my time doing something useful and fun while also offering something to the community.

About 1,5 month ago, I found an organization on my island called Omikron that is responsible for protecting the environment, preventing fires and even intervene when a fire occurs, alongside the fire department.
The team has about 50 active volunteers, 3 vehicles (one of which is a firefighting truck that holds 5 tons of water), and has another vehicle in the making. Some of the actions the team does are planting trees and watering them, doing daily patrols in forest areas during the summer, help people in accidents, floods, earthquakes, fires, and pretty much anything that falls under "civil and environmental protection".

It is widely known that Greece has a problem with fires, especially during the summer. Our island isn't an exception! We've had 4 fires on the island during the summer, one of which was put out about 2 weeks ago, after killing a 64 year old woman, and sending to hospital two other women, in its path. Members of the team have been in all of the 4 fires and helped the fire department put them out. I want to be able to join the rest of the team in the event of a fire and help them as much as I can. However, I can't do so without the proper training and gear.

For the training part I'm already covered as members of the team with extensive knowledge, experience and qualifications will train me and other new members by holding seminars with both theoretical and practical lessons.
However, when it comes to the gear, I'm not all that covered. I've been to several patrols so far, and the "gear" I have is what you can see in the picture:

jGykdvV.jpg


As you can imagine, a pair of worn-out trainers, a pair of work gloves, a flashlight, some bandages, a half-face and only 2 cotton T-Shirts can't really help me in the event of a fire. Hell, I can barely work with them when planting trees or watering plants.

The team has suggested that I gear up in order to be able to help in the event of a fire (and it's likely one will happen before the summer ends for good), as right now, I'd probably end up injuring myself if I tried to help put out one. The need helping hands, and they really need young helping hands, that's why they want me to gear up and attend training as fast as possible.
Although I'm really trying to gather money, I have no job or other sort of income and my mother can barely cover my expenses as they are, let alone add to them and as a result it will probably take me months to buy all the gear I need, despite the fact that the cost isn't all that big.

The thins I need to buy are:
  • A pair of work boots
  • A headlight
  • A mask
  • Goggles
  • A pair or two of cotton work pants
  • A multi-tool and a knife
The total cost is somewhere around 150 euros.
After buying the handheld flashlight and the work gloves seen in the picture above, I've managed to save up another 40 euros to spend on the boots.
If I'm able to buy all the necessary gear, the team will provide me with a fire-proof suit to use in the event of a fire so I can be of help. But a suit without the rest of the gear doesn't really protect you from anything.

I made this thread not only to urge people to find volunteer organisations in their town and go help their community in any way that they can, but also to ask for your help.
I'm not all that active within McMarket, but I believe there are genuine people that would help me gear up in order to be able to help my community effectively and I'm asking anyone that can and wants to send me some money on Paypal to send me a private message.
I'll send anyone that helps a picture of me in full gear when I'm able to buy everything.

Feel free to discuss the topic of volunteer work under the thread. I'd love to see your guy's opinion on the subject.. And remember, you're never too young to do volunteer work in your area, non-profit organizations can use all the help they can get!

P.S I'm not begging for money. I want to discuss the topic of volunteer work, while also urging anyone who can and wants to help me to do so.
 
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GrumpyCowRC

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I don't have money to donate but it would be cool if someone does for him, it is community service. :)
 

Theagainmen

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First of all, it's funny how Omikron also is a name for a videogame, second if you need money why the f*ck would you go to a minecraft forum?

Overall pure bullshit, show us some pictures of your volunteer work.
This thread made me laugh.
 

Sinkas

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First of all, it's funny how Omikron also is a name for a videogame, second if you need money why the f*ck would you go to a minecraft forum?

Overall pure bullshit, show us some pictures of your volunteer work.
This thread made me laugh.

First of all, the fact that the team's name also happens to be the name of a video game doesn't mean anything. Here's the team's website: http://omikron.org.gr/ (although a bit inactive as they're getting a new one designed), and here's the team's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/omadaomikron/?fref=ts (latest post about 10 days ago). The name Omikron comes from the Greek letter "O" and stands for "Omada" (team in Greek), or "Omiroupoli" (the name of the area the team is officialy protecting).

To answer your question, I didn't come to a minecraft forum because I need money. I've been a member of the Minecraft community for some time now and it just happens that I need some help. There are a lot of people who have made a profit from this website doing freelance work and maybe there are some who feel like donating some money to a good cause.
On top of that, I wanted to discuss the topic of volunteer work and get people's opinion on the subject, while also asking for anyone that is able, to help me with my gear as I can't afford it on my own. If someone isn't able or doesn't want to help me, he's free to just discuss the topic, no need to bash at my attempt to raise some money.

I do not have any photos of my work, but I can take some on Wednesday when we will gather at the base to work and speak (no patrol for me that day). I hope that will prove that I'm actually trying to raise money for my gear and not to purchase a video-game or anything.

To conclude with, if this thread made you laugh maybe you should spend a minute to consider that not all people have the ability to afford stuff they need and that you should be thankful that you have what you have. I hope you didn't find my response insulting as insulting someone is the last thing I want to do through this thread.
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, I'll do my best to enlighten you.
 

Sinkas

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After the advice of one of the team's members, I decided to put off the boots for the time being and buy something that is needed more. Say hi to my new pair of cotton work-pants:
AI0X9Sl.jpg


One item off the list!
 

Sinkas

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Hi sexy work pants, jokes aside, it's great what you're doing, I would love to make a donation, currently I can't, as my Paypal account is limited. If you're still needing the funds once it's unlimited, I'll be more than happy to make a donation.

Thanks for the kind words George, I appreciate them! You could check in the thread once your Paypal gets unlimited and see if it's still active if you want to donate. By the way, keep in mind that sharing the thread with your friends is also a huge help!
 

Pazzword

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I'm unable to see the images you post
 

Sinkas

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This is really nice what you're doing! I would donate but don't have much money as of now. Good luck with this :3

Thank you for your kind words. Remember though, you can also help me by sharing the thread with your friends.

As I promised to Theagainmen on Monday, today that we were working inside the base, I took some pictures of the base and the vehicles as proof that I'm not making everything up to scam you out of money.
In the spoiler, you'll find the pictures attached with a brief description of what they depict.

The sign outside the entrance of the base
vMyNZMP.jpg


The base as you see it from the entrance (essentially what you'd see if you turned your head right in the picture above)
f1FUOF5.jpg


The O-2 vehicle parked in its garage
v9mlVQQ.jpg


The O-3 vehicle (mostly used to transport people in the back)
H2sCret.jpg


(You can see the vehicle's name in the top left corner of the back)
TUH8l4H.jpg


The inside of the O-4 vehicle the team is currently working on (it will be used to transport people and as a moving base)
eLYkumf.jpg


And lastly, Hera, one of the team's mascots (she's actually the dog of one of the members)
pOXK6HV.jpg

I hope the pictures above are enough to prove that the team I claim to be part of actually exists, and that I'm actually a member.
If you have any questions or would like to suggest another way to prove what I say, feel free to comment below.
 

Sinkas

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The pictures work just fine for me, weird. Anyhow, here's the link to an imgur album I made which contains all the pictures in this thread:
 
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