April Winchell

I have a sister named Amber.

If you've listened to my old KFI shows in the archives, you may have heard her calling in from time to time. She was obsessed with the Robert Blake case and used to park in front of his house before he was arrested. She would sit in her car with her husband and eat bagels, and call me on the air to tell me what was in his trash.

She is really, really odd.

But she is also one of the most compassionate people I have ever known, and does a lot of good work for charity.

One of her most personal causes is the well being and comfort of our firemen. Part of that, I'm sure, has to do with the fact that her late father was a fireman. She just undertsands what their lives are like, the sacrifices they make, and what heroes they really are.

Every Christmas, she has cookie making parties at her house. Everyone gets together to make a batch of their own recipe, and she assembles baskets for all the neighborhood firehouses. Then she and her husband and their Great Danes all put on Santa hats and make their deliveries. Sometimes she will even wear her late father's fireman's hat. These men and women just matter to her, and she does what she can.

Recently, she heard about a program called Adopt-A-Fire Station. This is a neighborhood program that raises money to help fix up local fire stations. The government only does so much, so the fire fighters often go without things like kitchen supplies, air conditioning and other every day comforts. It hard to believe, but there are actually fire stations without heat. It's a sad situation.

The station in the worst shape seems to be the one in her own neighborhood. The Northridge earthquake in 1994 totally destroyed that firehouse, and ever since, these poor guys have been living and working in a trailer. They sleep on small beds with ripped bedding, and it is so cramped that some of them sleep up against work out equipment.

Their new station will be completed in 2008. And while that's a great thing to look forward to, they still have another two years of living and working in really poor conditions.

So my sister has adopted this fire station, and is actively raising money for them. I think it's a really worthy cause, and I'd like to help her. So I'm spreading the word.

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation, send a check or money order made out to California Commuity Foundation, and specifiy on the check that it is for Station 78.

Then send your donation to my post office box:

April Winchell
Post Office Box 1397
Santa Monica, Ca 90406

If you can do anything at all and it feels like something you want to support, please do. And thanks.

If you would like more information on the Adopt-A-Fire Station program, you can visit their web site, or call (213) 978-3820.

Thanks again!