New PSA Promoting Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment Features NASCAR’s Joey Logano
December 1, 2015
The PSA is part of the NVFC’s new national Make Me A Firefighter volunteer recruitment campaign. The campaign is designed to increase awareness among the public of the need for volunteer responders, as well as provide departments with tools and resources to conduct a successful local recruitment campaign.
“I’ve always admired people who move fast, conquer fear, and push themselves hard. People who can be part of a team, working together as one. People who always have each others’ backs. These are the kinds of people who make a difference in a way few others can. These are America’s firefighters,” Logano says in the PSA. He goes on to encourage people to find local volunteer opportunities in the fire service through the MakeMeAFirefighter.org web site.
Departments can go to http://portal.nvfc.org to add their volunteer opportunities to the Make Me A Firefighter database so that potential volunteers can connect from MakeMeAFirefighter.org. The portal also has free, customizable tools and resources to make local recruitment campaigns easier.
Shell Pipeline and Logano have been ongoing supporters of the Make Me A Firefighter campaign. The No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion, which Logano drives, featured the campaign slogan and web site during a race at the Richmond International Raceway in September. In addition, Logano and Shell Pipeline President Greg Smith helped open the NVFC’s fall board meeting in Concord, NC, in October. The No. 22 was also on display at the meeting. Logano has had a very successful year, including winning the Daytona 500 and recently sweeping the Contender Round in the Sprint Cup Series.
Many departments across the nation struggle with recruiting and retaining enough volunteers to adequately staff their departments. Part of the challenge is awareness. An NVFC survey found that 41 percent of respondents did not know if their local department utilized volunteers and 79 percent did not know their department was seeking volunteers.
“We are very grateful to Joey Logano and Shell Pipeline Company for their support in raising awareness among a wider audience of the need for volunteers in the fire and emergency services,” said NVFC Chairman Kevin D. Quinn. “The vast majority of departments in the U.S. rely on volunteers, and it is critical that we have enough volunteer responders to effectively protect our communities. This PSA will help alert people to this need and how they can serve their community.”
Departments are welcome to share the PSA on their web sites, social media, and in other outreach efforts to help raise awareness among the public of the need for volunteers.
About Shell Pipeline Company LP
For more than 95 years, Shell Pipeline Company LP has helped meet America’s energy needs. We transport more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil and refined products annually through thousands of miles of pipelines located in five states.