Community service is part of the job for emergency responders, but a group of Anne Arundel County firefighters found a way to serve those in need outside their job description last week when they donated more than 400 books to local children.
After collecting stacks of children's books at fire stations throughout the county, a half-dozen current and retired firefighters delivered the donations to Anne Arundel Early Head Start in Shady Side and the Annapolis Family Support Center on Wednesday — then stuck around to read to children before heading back to their stations.
"These men are all heroes. They run into burning buildings when everybody else is running out to protect lives and make sure everybody's safe," Margaret Williams, executive director of Maryland Family Network, told a group of more than a dozen children and parents in Annapolis. "Now they've donated all these books for you and for the center."
For the children, the event provided a rare opportunity to interact with firefighters and take home armfuls of books that they may not have had access to otherwise.
For the firefighters, it was a chance to step outside their regular role and connect with the community in a new way. Firefighters exchanged hugs and high-fives with toddlers.
"When we get to interact with the public normally, it's on the worst day of their life and there's some bad circumstances," said Brian Holtslander, a firefighter and paramedic from Station 17 in Arnold. "It's very refreshing for us to get out and have a chance to interact with people on a positive day.
"We try to take all of those opportunities we can. It's good for us, and it's good for the community."
The idea for the book drive occurred to Holtslander after he read about a similar event in Carroll County. According to Douglas Lent, communications director for Maryland Family Network, Holtslander reached out to the organization and "said he'd love to do something similar to help out, which we were completely honored by."
"Community service is something that's very important to us both on and off the job, and so when this opportunity came up it was an easy decision to try and help out," Holtslander said.
Holtslander was joined on Wednesday by fellow current and retired firefighters Mario "Nano" Gowland, Mike Stoshnoski, Ray Hardesty, and Bill and Deb Poteet.
After the firefighters finished hauling box after box of books into the centers, Gowland, a 23-year veteran stationed at Company 40 in West Annapolis — who also has experience in acting and voice-over work — delivered a dramatic reading of "Clifford the Firehouse Dog" to the children in attendance.
"The kids were completely enthralled, which is not easy to do for children under 5," Lent said.
Williams, who oversees Maryland Family Network's 25 family support centers throughout the state, said reading to kids is an integral part of childhood development.
"The research is very clear that parents who read to their children, adults who read to children, are helping develop their brains," Williams said. "They will enter school ready to learn because they will have heard lots of language, which makes a huge difference in how the brain works and conceptualizes."
The family network centers provide free services to parents and children from birth through age 3. At the Annapolis Family Support Center, parents can access classes, employment networks, parenting resources and even driving lessons while children receive daily child care. The center serves between 20 and 32 families every month.
"Because of the incredible work that happens here, children grow up strong and smart and healthy, and parents get the support they need to be great parents to little kids," Williams said.
Holtslander said he hopes to organize another drive and return to the centers next year to deliver more donations and see the progress the children have made.
"These books are all for you," he told the children and their parents. "Take them home, enjoy them, read with your families. We look forward to great things from you youngsters in the future."