A MUNNO Para pre-school has thanked local firefighting brigades by donating $600 raised by students and their families.

The Dalkeith and Virginia Country Fire Service (CFS) brigades visited the Stepping Stone Curtis Road pre-school on Friday to teach kids about the service, with many of the volunteers recently returning from deployment to Kangaroo Island and New South Wales.

To thank the volunteers, staff and students held a fundraiser selling shirts with “thank you CFS” printed on the front, which saw $600 raised.

Staff member Kathy Keough said it was around $400 more than the fundraiser organisers expected.

“It started off with making cupcakes and a morning tea to having a firetruck, firefighters and Smokey the koala,” she said.

“We asked parents to donate $5, $2 of which would go to the t-shirts and the other $3 to the CFS.

“We actually had Big W at Parabanks donate us a lot of t-shirts which significantly increased what we could pass on to the CFS.

“A lot of parents also donated more than $5. Being the CFS, you either know someone or know someone who knows someone that has been affected by fires.

“It’s amazing to hand over that cheque.”

Students also made a fire truck display out of recycled materials to welcome the volunteers, as well as making cupcakes for a morning tea.

A wide range of fundraisers have been held around the country to thank our volunteer firefighters in the wake of large blazes in the Adelaide Hills, New South Wales and on Kangaroo Island.

Dalkeith CFS volunteer Jamie Pugh said firefighters have been blown away by the support and donations from the public.

“We’re volunteers and we don’t expect to be thanked,” he said.

“A fundraiser like this is good for our cause and good for everyone else’s’ cause too.

“Everybody’s involved across the country in this. Everyone’s been impacted in some way.

“Even if you’re in the city, you’re affected by people out in the country when it comes to things like food and produce prices.

“It is a dangerous game, as you would know, a few lives have been lost. Both firefighters and the general public.”

Mr Pugh added seeing young kids recognise the work the CFS does for the community made all the hard work over the past month worth it and hoped it would inspire them to volunteer in the future.

“Seeing all the kids around is great. This is our future,” he said.

“We do a cadet program now. That’s for younger people from 14-years-old through to 18-years-old.

“From there, hopefully they transition from the cadet stage through to firefighter status and continue throughout their life like me. I’ve done 30 years.”