Donation to Help Egg Harbor Acquire Rescue Truck

Egg Harbor Fire Chief Steve Schopf, center, and the members of the Egg Harbor Fire Department display the ceremonial check from the Monsanto Fund. Photo by Justin MacDonald
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Egg Harbor Fire Chief Steve Schopf was pleasantly surprised to learn his department was the recipient of a $2,500 donation through the Monsanto Fund’s America’s Farmers Grow Communities program, and even more surprised to learn that it was his nephew Robby Schopf who had applied for the donation.

“I work at the farm [Schopf’s Hilltop Dairy] with Robby, but he didn’t tell me he did this,” Chief Schopf said. “So when I got the call, I was like, ‘Holy cow!’ It’s great that Monsanto gives back to the community like this.”

Schopf said the donation will go into the pot for the purchase of a much-needed rescue truck for the department.

“These days, we don’t just respond to fires,” Schopf said. “A lot of our calls are car accidents, farm accidents, that type of stuff. And the amount of equipment we have to carry, we just can’t carry on our truck anymore. We need a toolbox on wheels. That’s what we’re working toward.”

The cost of such a vehicle is in the $100,000 to $125,000 range.

“This donation is really appreciated,” Schopf said. “We have quite a ways to go yet to meet our goal, but we’ll keep plugging away until we get there.”

Donations are being accepted, “and we are a 501(c)3 so it is totally tax deductible,” Schopf pointed out. “Contact myself ([email protected]) or the town, and Pam (Krauel, the town clerk) will get the information to me.”