5 Steps to Creating Baskets of Care for First Responders

Fire Fighters. EMTs. Police Officers.

Every day they watch over us. Every day they are protecting us or taking care of us. They work long shifts that aren’t always in the best conditions.

When’s the last time you said thank you?

Perhaps you can’t remember. Or maybe since we’re talking about it you realize it’s not often enough. I was like that, I used to not think about them much. I appreciated the work they do but I don’t think I showed it enough. That all changes though when you get to know a first responder or a few of them well. Between a minor house emergency and new friendships I’ve developed I’ve learned a lot about how so many times they and their families are sacrificing for us and our families. Too many times there’s a risk that when they leave home they may not be back home. That thought is daunting and has me saying a prayer for our first responders every time I hear a siren.

With the passing of Halloween, yes Halloween and the coming of the holidays, it occurred to me that we could not embark on a 12 Days of Service without making sure part of that service included thanking them for their service to us. So to say thank you to our first responders we are creating these Baskets of Care.

5 Steps to Creating Baskets of Care

• Cute container ~ Containers and baskets can be found at most stores. Consider first what all you are going to put into the container so you buy the right size. I suggest something simple in a basic color. It will give the squad a generic container they can use year-round. Or you can really use your creativity and decorate your container to reflect the first responders you are giving it to. For example, the fire fighter basket can look like a fire truck or fire house. The police container can be decorated with minibadges. We used a red container for our fire fighters and emts and blue for the police department.

• Care items ~ Our first responders are always there to care for us, putting the needs of our community before their own. So my boys and I wanted to gift them items that would help them take care of themselves inbetween taking care of us. I stopped into our local Walgreens so I could take advantage of their current promotion to save up to $15 on participating Pfizer products. We stocked our care baskets with Centrum gummy vitamins, Advil pain relievers, and Chapsticks as well as tissues and cough drops. For more information on this deal and other great Pfizer products, check out this link.

• Add in sweets ~ Maybe it’s corny but we also think it’s sweet how our first responders are there for our community so we are treating them to A LOT of our leftover Halloween candy. Plus I’m sure that extra sugar might help when they get those late night early morning calls.

• Activity books ~ I don’t imagine our first responders get a lot of down time, but we wanted to give them some activities for when they did. We included books filled with crossword puzzles, word finds, and other activity pages.

• Hand written messages and cards ~ If you search online it’s easy to find free printable coloring pages for anything. We pulled up ones for fire fighters, police officers, and emt. I added the personal note and my kids will color in the images for the final touches on our care baskets for first responders.

This afternoon, we’ll start making the deliveries of our care baskets for first responders. I can’t wait to say thank you for all they do and to see everyone’s reactions.

How do you show your local first responders you care?