2010 Selected Charities

Rains County Volunteer Fire Departments  (50%)

We have three Volunteer Fire Departments in Rains County. Emory VFD, Point VFD and East Tawakoni VFD. Emory VFD which has two stations; one located in the City of Emory, the other is located at Steamboat Shores. Point VFD has two stations; one located in the City of Point, the other in Flats. East Tawakoni has one station located in the City of East Tawakoni. These three Volunteer Departments cover all of Rains County with Fire Protection as well as First Responders for medical calls. They work with the Sheriff Department at accidents; they also have mutual aid agreements with the surrounding County’s Volunteer Fire Departments. All three Departments are made up of Volunteer’s who give freely of their time to help the citizens of Rains County. The support received from the Founders Day Festival will be put to good use serving the citizens with Fire Protection and First Responder Training and Equipment purchases.

Good Samaritans of Rains County  (40%)

The Good Samaritans of Rain County served 3,149 families and 10,795 individuals in 2009. This service helped these families with food, shelter, medical and utility assistance. The need for benevolent activities continues to grow as Rains County grows. The Good Samaritans are attracting more volunteers and are converting records to computers.  During 2009 volunteers logged over 15,000 hours of contributed time to this effort. This will be the ninth year the Good Samaritans will receive benefits from the Founders Day Festival. If past performance is any indication, this year’s sponsor’s contribution will be put to good use by this volunteer organization.

Rains 4-H Club  (10%)

The Rains 4-H Club is a Founders Day selected charity. The 4-H Club currently serves 115 members. Until now their fund raising efforts (such as the concession stand at the Fair) have been adequate to fund their leadership activities. However, in 2009 the club established the Rains 4-H Scholarship to be given to qualifying seniors at Rains High School.  The scholarship is based on participation, so the scholarship is awarded to the seniors who are active in projects, activities, and 4-H contests.  This is proving to be an effective tool in retaining active participation by the Senior 4-H members. The money received from Founders Day goes into this fund.  The 4-H Club builds and reinforces the rural values that are so important to the future success of Rains County. Without the Founders Day support the future of these new projects is at risk. The Founders Day Committee is proud to align with this youth oriented organization.